


Till Death Do Us Part

by Musicbot12



Series: Till Death Do Us Part [1]
Category: Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2003), Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles (TV 2012)
Genre: F/M, SAINW, TDDUP, TMNT
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-08-28
Updated: 2017-08-17
Packaged: 2018-08-11 15:42:39
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 16
Words: 39,877
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/7898458
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Musicbot12/pseuds/Musicbot12
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>What happens when you lose someone close to you that makes a bigger impact on everyone's lives than you think? What if your team can't survive without him? What if he planned this all along? This is the story of how the turtles lost. How the fall of Donatello led to the fall of the world.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Final Days

**Author's Note:**

> This kind of takes place before the infamous Same as it never was episode but with some 2012 series and IDW comic elements.  
> ~Enjoy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo, Raph, Mikey, and Casey Jones run into Hun and the Purple Dragons during an evening patrol and discover their latest plan with the Shredder

The tall muscular man draped in dark metal stood upon the balcony of the large TCRI building, looking out on to the glowing city beneath him. His gloved hands were clasped behind his back as his one good eye scanned the people under him. Iron grating against concrete soon interrupted his thoughts as it drew nearer.  
He made no effort to turn to the approaching robot.  
"The dimensional portal for the one known as Shredder is near that which is known as completion." The alien's language was translated in a rough, albeit blunt manner.  
"Excellent" The man replied, narrowing his eyes in delight.  
"Kraang must give Shredder that which is known as a warning. The device needs to be handled with extreme caution. One mistake and the fate of all dimensions will be in that which is known as danger. Worlds will collide, war will be brought upon us. So Kraang asks: is the one known as Shredder really know what he is doing?"  
"Trust me, this will be the beginning of a new era. This world has had its freedom for too long.  
"Chaos. Stupidity. Ignorance.  
"The strong need to overpower the weak. And who will be there to control them? With my army and your race we will be unstoppable. The bravest of men will cower before us, the strongest will fall to their knees, and the wisest will question their existence. This world will see to its end very soon. And this time no man or turtle will stand in our way!"

If it wasn't for the soft clattering of hockey sticks against one another, one wouldn't have noticed the three blurs of green and black soaring over the gap between two of New York City's buildings. Their leader- distinguished in blue- toke a couple steps ahead to glance over the edge while his team stood at his back. Three sets of eyes watched him in desperation before he released out an aggravated sigh, showing them his annoyance.

"It's just the Purple dimwits." Leo shrugged.  
"YAWN!" Mikey rolled his eyes.  
"I don't know, guys. I think they've seemed to've forgotten who really owns the streets around here. Should we give them a reminder, Case?" Raph rolled his eyes in Casey's direction as he pressed against his knuckles, the satisfying crackling sound escaping from under his skin. "They do seem to have a weak memory." Casey agreed reaching for the baseball bat nestled within his bag.

Silent figures soon leaped inside the building, springing from where they had perched just out of sight. The first to arrive was greeted with a bat to the face. By this time, the foursome was aware that this was no chance encounter. Nobody wore such dark, outdated clothing other than the Foot Clan. Of course, there was never a circus without a ringleader. The last man to appear was by far the most distinguished. No full-body uniform for Hun. After all, how could he show off his tattoos otherwise?

Instead of joining in on the fighting, Hun watched from the door frame. A sneer curled on his lip at the sight of his four enemies. Even as Foot soldiers were knocked around and slammed into things, he remained where he was. He held up a hand, and the ninja around fell still.

"That's enough. We're not here for them." Hun growled, his beady gaze narrowing. Even in the stillness, Mikey finished what he was doing. Another good smack with his nunchaku, and the ninja he had been combatting staggered and fell off his feet. For a moment, all eyes lingered on the orange-clad turtle. Blushing, he glanced away from the eyes that scathed over him.

"Ha...Whoops."

Although Hun set his jaw, he chose not to comment to this breach in the temporary ceasefire. Crossing both arms, his grin returned almost as soon as it left.

"Cut the crap. If you're not here for us, then what are you here for?" Leo scowled, the blades of his fine weapons glinting in the dim overhead lights. Unlike Mikey, he chose to stay on edge. These halts in violence didn't last long.

"Now, that's a little secret. Can't have plans ruined so early, after all. Especially since the whole of the Turtles aren't here. Can't start a game without the MVP, now can we?" The sunglass wearing thug chuckled to himself at his own cryptic words.

"You'll all see soon enough. But we don't have time for this. All hail Lord Shredder!" Hun tossed down a smoke bomb as he jeered. The fragile casing burst open immediately when contacted with the ground, and thick smoke spewed from the small casing. As the black fog cleared away, none of the gang members were in sight.

"Well, that was weird." Mikey coughed as he waved his hand in front of his face.

"Looks like we don't have to investigate that Foot sighting of fifth now." Raph scoffed, sliding a particularly large shard of glass out of his path.

"Since when did the purple dragons make such hasty deliveries for the Foot?" Leo added as he glanced around.  
"Yeah, at least then they'll be sure to have a quick retreat and not leave any trace they were there." Raph agreed as he followed his brother towards the broken glass case.

"Unless they were wanting someone to know they were here." Leo and Raph looked towards Casey as he pulled a knife from the wall. Wrapped in dark cloth, the Foot Clan's symbol was draped over the handle.

"Well, this is getting suspicious." Raph responded bluntly.

"Yeah, this is just like in my comic books! Where the villain overlord would leave symbols where he knew where the hero would be to lure him into his trap!" Mikey beamed.

"Or they were just being idiotic and weren't picking up after themselves." Raph snickered as he took the knife from Casey.

"Either way our work here is done. Let's head back to the lair and inform Master Splinter and Donnie about this." Leo declared. He began from the back, and ushered the four back towards their underground home.

April was sunken down into one of the moth-eaten couches with her feet rested on top of the ledge of cement. The only sounds throughout the lair was the soft drone of the television in before her and the slow breathing from the sleeping body at her lap.

Her hand gently caresses the space where his mask was absent, the purple fabric draped over the arm rest of the chair. The dark circles beneath his brown eyes were exposed for her long enough to notice that he hadn't been getting the sleep he needed for quite some time. It had been a bit of a struggle to pull him from his lab and actually relax for once, but she was finally able to accomplish her task. As soon as he was comfortable in his chair, Donnie was out like a light.

"And then when I shoved him into that glass case, man you should've seen the way he winced in pain! I'm sure that'll be leaving a scar." April turned her head as Casey's loud mouth echoed through the dark tunnels adjacent to the lair.

April leaned forward to grab the remote and turned off the TV. The familiar voices grew louder, causing Donnie to inhale a deep breath in his sleep and turn to his other side. April continued to run her hand along his head, in fear that he was waking up, her gaze scathing the returning turtles (and Casey).

"Yeah, and how-"

"Shh!" April's finger met with her lips as the harsh his escaped her lips.

"Gez, red." Casey winced. "Didn't know it was nap time."

"Wow you actually got mister grumpy pants to sleep? What'd you have to do, hit him with a frying pan?" Mikey laughed at the thought.

"He's been up all night the past few weeks working on some miraculous project. Surprised you even got him out of that junk cavern." Raph grinned at his own humor, scooping an unopened soda can from the coffee table. He broke the seal from his can, the soft hiis following the cracking of aluminum.

"I know, he won't even let me in there. Whatever's going on in there lately he's been keeping under lock and key."

"Romeo forbids his Juliet to enter his sanctuary? Truly a tragedy." Casey remarked, earning a backhand to the arm from April. He lurched away, fingers ghosting over the stinging mark. The gap-toothed smile only widened at the hint of her aggravation.

"Oh, shut up, Casey. I'm just saying its unusual behavior for him."

"So are we going to tell them about our run in with the Purple Dragons or are we just going to keep talking about Sleeping Beauty as if he's not right there?" Mikey finally pointed out.

"We'll wait to talk about tonight's patrol when everyone's is present, like at dinner." Leo suggested. "It was just like any other Purple Dragon run in. There's no need for an emergency meeting or anything."

"But isn't it weird how active the Purple Dragons have been lately? And after that last encounter, aren't you guys just a little concerned?"  
"Mikey, I said we'll talk about it at dinner. We'll make it a team meeting, I promise." Leo assured him.

"Pizza's here!" April announced as she pushed through the turnstiles, the four cardboard boxes steaming in her folded arms. "Thank you!" Mikey beamed as he snatched a box from the top of the pile and escaping towards the kitchen. "Glad I decided to get four boxes at the last minute." April remarked as she placed the boxes on the kitchen table.

"I'll let Donnie know pizza's here." Leo volunteered as he got up from his seat at the table.

"Good luck." Raph replied as he tossed the stack of paper plates on to the table as well. "Way to keep it classy, Raph." Casey scoffed, placing each platter in front of a seated chair. "We'd be eating on actual plates if somebody would do their turn on doing the dishes." Raph turned his head in Mikey's direction who was already on his third slice of pizza. "Uh, I think its Donnie's turn actually…"

"Oh, no, Mikey. You're not dumping it on me this time." Donnie ratted him out as he stepped in behind Leo. "It's your turn."

"Ooh, ratted out by the dead itself." Raph teased as he pulled out a chair next to Donnie. "Sorry, Mikey. I'm not doing dishes twice." Donnie remarked as Mikey pouted in his chair.

April and Casey soon entered the room and the room was filled with mixed conversations as the teenagers reached over each other to grab food find a seat at the table. Once everyone was seated, Splinter quietly entered the room and toke his assigned empty chair at the head of the table. The volume of the room lowered as everyone became occupied with emptying their plates.

"So, how did patrol go?" Donnie asked, his voice being the loudest thing in the room.

"Yes, Michelangelo said you have something to discuss about tonight's patrol." Splinter directed towards Leo with a hint of suspicion.

"It was just another run in with the purple dragons and how the foot was going to take over the world and yada yada yada." Raph explained as he reached forward to bring another slice of pizza to his plate.

"So the purple dragons are doing Shredder's biddings now?" April asked.

"It seems that they're only assigned to some of the more… less important jobs. I guess, shredder doesn't want his soldiers to go to waste. After all, they've only been sighted in small business and facilities. Nothing too major that they're stealing." Leo explained.

"Yet." Donnie added, his eyes not leaving his still full plate. "This could just be what Shredder is wanting us to think."

"Finally, someone else is taking a hint." Mikey sighed.

"This is true, Leonardo. Shredder is not someone to put plans into action without them having a larger meaning. I fear this may be a message that he's trying to get across. Maybe just not to us." Splinter spoke with concern, his left hand stroking his beard with each word.

"Alright, if it'll satisfy everyone, we'll go on another patrol tomorrow night to look for the purple dragons and get the answers we need." Leo finally gave into. "Hopefully they'll be more corruptive then."

The rest of the team silently agreed before continuing their dinner in silence, the occasional brief conversations picking up every once in a while.

The single light of his desk lamp guided Donnie towards his lab through the dark pit. The lair had fallen silent after everyone decided to go to bed after cleaning up dinner. Casey had agreed to walk April home after Splinter ruled that no one was leaving the lair in order to get plenty of rest for tomorrow training session, much to Donnie's dismay. His foot had just touched metallic rail of the sliding doors in the entrance when the distinct sound of someone clearing their throat froze him dead in his tracks.

"I believe that I informed all of you to be in bed by 11." Splinter's firm voice spoke from behind him. "It is now currently midnight, Donatello."

A sigh escaped from Donnie's nostrils, quiet enough so Splinter couldn't hear it.

"I was just making sure I turned off my computer before I drifted to sleep. They say if you keep it running long enough it'll over heat and explode and we don't want that, do we?" Donnie asked, making up the excuse on the spot in a way Splinter would understand. Splinter raised a brow before taking a step closer past his son. "Oh, my bright child. I know that sometimes I come across to you as an old fool." With a single slide of his hand, Splinter shut the lab doors behind Donnie. "But, you're going to have to think of a better excuse than that next time."

Standing this close to his son, Splinter was able to see the redness of his eyes and the dark circles peeking out from under his mask. His son looked utterly exhausted, yet there was still some determination in those chocolate brown eyes.

"Take care of the computer." Splinter sighed, averting his eyes from his son's. "Then I want you straight in bed."

"Hai, sensei." Donnie nodded without taking another minute to enter his lab. Splinter watched as the doors to his son's lab closed, a brighter light shining from under them.

Inside, Donnie turned on the overhead lights and made sure him computer was turned off the serve as an alibi. When the computer was shut down, Donnie slipped out the garage doors, making sure the door was shut only slightly to guarantee a quiet return.


	2. Sound the Alarm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The turtles go on patrol to find out more information about the Purple Dragons' and Shredder' s newest scheme

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 2 or as I like to call it chapter 2/2 of the only happy times in this story   
> ~Enjoy

"4 hours." Raph grunted as he slid his hands down his neck. "We've been up here for FOUR HOURS."

"And still counting." Donnie mumbled as adjusted the scope on his telescope.

"I'm sure they'll be here any second now." Leo argued. "If what Hun said was true, they'll be on the move again tonight. Then, we'll be able to figure out what all this is about."

"Maybe he's unleashing a giant mutant blob monster." Mikey thought aloud as he hung upside down on the ladder to the small water tower. "Who traps his victims in parts of his sticky body and Shredder's gonna use it to cover New York in sticky goo!"

"Yeah- I don't think so, Mikey." Leo replied as Raph shook his head.

"We would already be done with this if they would've just told us what this is all about." Raph toke a seat on the ledge on the building.

"Well, you know how the purple dragons are, they get one job from Shredder and they think they rule over New York." Donnie sighed as he leaned back against the stilts of the water tower.

"You're not looking too good, D. You feeling ok?" Mikey asked, tilting his head to meet Donnie's.

"Huh? Oh, uh, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine." He responded as he rubbed his hands along his face. "Just tired."

"We're all tired!" Raph added. "Because we've been on guard nonstop for 24 hours."

"Wait, do you hear that?" Leo silenced them as he listened carefully over the sounds of car horns and the faint sounds of human voices. "It sounds like an alarm."

"Finally." Raph jumped top his feet.

"I just spotted a Foot soldier entering the ally way next to the fortune cookie factory. The alarm must be coming from that direction." Donnie spoke as he looked through his telescope. "Then that's where we're heading." Leo ordered. "Let's move, ninjas."

The four ninja turtles darted across the rooftops of the buildings, their black silhouettes from the bright city lights being the only proof of their presence. As they approached the target ally way, a group of cars was settled in their path, their windows busted and alarms pounding in their ears. Each car was a different color: red, orange, blue and purple.

"Well, something tells me that this is for us." Raph commented.

"Proceed with caution, ninjas. Looks like they were expecting us." Leo added. Each turtle unsheathed their weapons as they entered through the window located on the roof of the factory. As they stayed hidden behind the stack of crates located on the catwalk, the lights of the factory kicked on, filling the room with its blinding white fluorescent light.

"Come out, come out where ever you are, turtles." Hun's voice echoed throughout the factory.

"We're right here, Hun." Leo's voice snarled behind him. "Ah, see, I told you they'd get the message." Hun addressed the foot soldiers beneath them, armed and ready for a fight. "So is that what this is all about? For you and your new gang to state an ambush on us?"

"Not exactly, we've come barring a message from Lord Shredder himself."

"Lord Shredder?" Donnie asked.  
"It's a new thing." Mikey replied.

"Lord Shredder is unleashing his ultimate weapon tonight. Once it's activated there will be nothing in this world that will be able to stop him."

"What kind of weapon?"

"Well, that's just something you're going to have to find out for yourself." Hun replied and with a snap of his fingers the foot soldiers attacked.

Raph charged at the soldiers first, piercing his sai's through the circuit boards of his enemy's as he piled through. Donnie jumped off the catwalk and swung his bo staff at the surrounding soldier, followed by Mikey, who kept back to back with him, taking out the soldier behind Donnie with his nunchakus.

Leo remained on the catwalk, swinging his single sword at Hun who dodged each swing with a swift move of his body. With Hun against the wall, Leo thrusted his sword forward, but Hun shifted body to the right, having the sword stick in the wall. Doing a summersault forward, Hun stood behind Leo who was struggling to pull his sword out of the wall. Taking out his butterfly knife he flipped the blade up. Leo abandoned his sword and unsheathed his second one, deflecting Hun's knife. With another swing, Leo's sword and Hun's knife were perpendicular against each other. Leo gave a push, but Hun stood his ground making it unable for Leo to knock him off his feet. With a quick glance down, Hun jumped up and kicked Leo in the plastron with both feet, knocking Leo on to his shell. Keeping one foot on his chest, Hun aimed his knife between Leo's eyes.

"As easy as it would to just end you here, Lord Shredder has other plans for you." Hun flicked the butterfly knife back into its handle and into his pocket. With another snap of his fingers, the soldiers began to retreat out the closest windows.

"Prepare yourselves, turtles." Hun announced as he backed into the doorway. "The world as we know it is about to change."

—

"And then they escaped again." Leo finished explaining. "Six hours of patrol, an ambush, and we still don't know what is going on."

"This would be so much easier if we just knew what it was." Mikey groaned, dropping his head to the kitchen table.

"He did mention Shredder unveiling some extravagant weapon tonight." Donnie pointed out as he set his laptop next to Mikey's head. "According to these reports, there's been a high amount of electric and radioactive frequency's emanating from Shredder's lair." Donnie turned the screen towards the others to show them. "That must be coming from this weapon." April suggested. "But what is it?"

"That's what you'll be finding out tonight." Splinter spoke.

"What?"

"If the shredder has a weapon in his arsenal that is capable of what Hun speaks of and has that much power in it then it must be stopped immediately. We can't take any chances that this will be something that can be stopped once it's activated." Splinter explained.

"Finally, we'll have a chance to end this craziness." Raph sighed with a hint of relief.

"Master Splinter's right, it'll be best to stop this weapon before Shredder has that chance to use it, even if it means we have to break into Foot headquarters. Donnie, pack up everything you'll need to disable that weapon. Raph and Casey, make sure the shellraiser and stealth bike are armed and ready to go. April, make sure all the headsets are fully charged. Mikey, stock up on smoke bombs." Leo ordered. "We're infiltrating Shredder's lair tonight


	3. Losing A Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As April, Casey, and the turtles infiltrate Shredder's lair they'll soon realize that they're not as in control as they believed they were.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: This chapter contains some slight angst and violence that might be triggering for some people and strong language.

"We're approaching Shredder's lair." April announced from behind the wheel of the Shellraiser.

"Alright, gang. April's going to park the shellraiser in the ally of the building next to Shredder's lair. From there, we'll get into position. Everyone remember the plan?" Leo asked.

"Yes." Casey, Raph and Donnie answered. Everyone's eyes trailed down to Mikey. Leo lifted a brow, waiting for Mikey's response.

"Refresh my memory."

"Alright, one more time. For Mikey." Leo sighed as sat in front of them. "When we arrive, we're going to enter the lair by taking out the two gaurds that are posted at the side door of the lair which is closes to the security room. Casey will stay posted on the next building to keep an eye on Shredder in his throne room. Once we've entered Shredder's lair, Donnie's going to infiltrate the security room while we take posts outside to make sure nobody enters. There, Donnie will override the security system to unlock all the doors in the lair and then shut off the power. Then, we'll meet back up and travel down to the basement of the lair where the frequencies are coming from and we'll destroy the weapon and then hopefully escape without drawing too much attention to ourselves."

"Got it!" Mikey gave him the thumbs up.

Once the shellrasier was in park the turtles began shuffling out of the vehicle followed by April.

"And I'll just be here. Waiting in the Shellraiser while the action goes on a block over." She sighed as she crossed her arms while leaning against the door frame of the Shellraiser.

"I know you're not too thrilled about the change of plans, but we need someone to stay here in case we need to make a quick escape." Leo explained.

"And you picked me because you don't think I can handle myself in there?"

"No, I picked you because I can't rely on frick and frack over there," Leo said pointing to Mikey, Raph and Casey. "And we need Donnie to hack into the security as we go."

"I guess that's understandable." April sighed. "Thanks, April." As Leo walked over to regroup with the others Donnie joined April in the Shellraiser.

"At least now all you have to worry about is not running the Shellraiser's battery dead." He tried to lighten her mood. "And the fact that all my friends are in our enemy's lair about to try and destroy his most powerful weapon created." She huffed as she plopped herself down in the driver's seat.

"Well, yeah, that too. But, I'm sure it'll be fine. Just in and out like Leo said." Donnie assured her.

"Just… just try to be careful, alright?" She glanced up at him.

"I'll try." Donnie shrugged.

"Don't just try." April stood back on her feet to plant a quick kiss on his cheek "Do." She threatened before nudging him out of the Shellraiser.

The four turtles began to creep around the corners of the building, quietly approching the two guards posted in front of the side door. With a quick sprint forward and push of a pressure point, the two guards went down at the hands of Leo and Raph.

Once inside everyone toke their position's, making sure to keep as close to the shadows and as hidden as possible. "Alright, enclosing around Shredder's lair now. Everyone in position?" Leo whispered into his headset.

"Yeah, Yeah, Yeah, Fearless."  
"Affirmative."  
"Right on, bro!"  
"Casey Jones is ready!"  
"Good. Donnie, Go." Leo ordered.

Donnie slid his satchel off his shoulder as he began to unload his digital decoder made from an old Nintendo D.S. with wires sticking out from the bottom attached to a battery like object. Pluggin in the USB cord into the device, the screen on the video game went black as a bunch of green coding came across the screen. By pressing the B button and the down arrow the password screen appeared on the device. By pressing both the L and R button the words PASSWORD CONFIRMED came across the device and the red light switched to green.

"Alright, I'm in." Donnie confirmed.

"Ok, now override the security system and shut off the power." Leo directed.

"Copy that." Donnie replied.

The three continued to keep watch when the lights above them shut off. "All taken care of." Donnie announced as he exited the room behind them, the light from his phone guiding him. "Ok, guys goggles on." Leo ordered. With the night vision goggles activated they could see in dark lair, a green glow on the area. Leo led them down the hallway before them, each making sure their footsteps were as quiet as possible. When they approached a two way split in the hallway Leo stopped them.

"You three head for Stockman's lab, I'll meet you guy's there." Leo instructed.

"Hey, whoa, whoa, whoa, where do you think you're going?" Raph grabbed him by the arm. "I'm just going to take another route. See if I can catch anymore glimpses of this plan before we invade so we know what we're up against." Leo assured him as he pulled his arm from Raph's grip. "No you're not. We all know where you're going, Leo. You're going to go find Karai, aren't you?" Raph toke a step forward, narrowing his gaze. "Raph, don't start this now-"

"No you are the one who doesn't need to be starting this now. She's a lost cause, Leo! What makes you think this time is any different than any other time she's betrayed us?" Raph barked.

"I have to agree with Raph on this one, Leo." Donnie spoke up. "I think we need to stick together on this one. Like you said, we have no idea what we're up against in there."

"Just- just give me 10 minutes, that's all I'm asking for." Leo pleaded. Raph averted his eyes as he pondered on his plead, Leo's gleaming eye's awaiting a response.

"Fine. Ten minutes. Not a minute late."

Leo nodded in agreement with Raph's reply before turning on his heels to leave. With Leo out of sight, Raph directed his brothers down the executed path towards Stockman's lab.

When they reached the large double doors that led to the evil scientist's lab each of them had already unsheathed their weapons, prepared for the battle that awaited them on the other side. Gently, Raph pushed the door open wide enough for the three of them to slip through. As they toke cover behind one of the wide cement pillars that reached the ceiling, Raph noticed that it was oddly quiet and empty in their atmosphere. The emergency back up lights were on overhead, giving them the opportunity to remove their goggles.

"If this was so important to Shredder, wouldn't you think it's be crawling with Footbots or something?" Mikey asked in a hush tone in case they weren't really alone. "Or maybe they're guarding somewhere else." Raph suggested. Each of them tightened their grips on their weapons as Raph stepped out from behind the pillar, taking in the full view of the room. The perimeter was round with rather large crates scattered and stacked along the walls. Six thick cement pillar stuck out of the ground and reached up the ceiling that encircled around a dip in the center of the room. The three ninjas toke a step closer to investigate the center object.

The device resembled a lot like the dimensional portal used by the Kraang to transport the krathatragons to earth. It was a large silver arch created from Kraang technology with a rather large control panel located several yards away from the portal. Tools and other devices laid scattered around the area as if the portal was still under construction. The three approached the device with caution.

"A portal?" Raph asked looking up at it. "What would the Shredder need a portal for? Especially when the Kraang have portals to spare."

"This isn't just any normal Kraang portal." Donnie stated as he ran his hand along the solid rim of it. "Judging by the wiring and its power source, this portal can teleport people across, dimension, planets, and even time!"

"Whoa." Mikey gaped as he starred up at the portal.

"Can you shut it down for good, Donnie?" Raph asked.

"Maybe, I'm going to need some time though." Donnie winced. "We'll buy you time." Raph declared. Raph and Mikey trudged up the small set of stairs to guard the doors. Once at the top of the steps, two white beams of light shot on directly over Raph and Mikey. In an explosion of black smoke around them, four Foot soldiers grabbed each of Mikey and Raph's arms, restraining them.

"Guys!" Donnie yelled as he went to run to them but more soldiers appeared, grabbing Donnie's arms. As he struggled to escape, a dark ring of laughter echoed in the room that made their skin go pale. Walking in through the open double doors was Shredder himself, his black cape gliding behind him. He marched forward past Mikey and Raph and stood before Donnie. Gripping onto his cape, he ripped it off his back and tossed it to the ground.

"Release him."

When the soldiers did as they were told, Donnie stood back on his feet. He reaching for his staff as Shredder approached him. "You pathetic turtles thought you could stop me so easily? You will all pay for your stupidity."

Donnie gave a worried glance back at his brother's before tightening his grip on his weapon, chestnut eyes narrowed in Shredder's direction. Sliding the strap to his satchel over his head and off his shoulder he tossed in the direction of Shredder's cape, it falling in front of his brother.

"You want a fight, shred-head? Then, fine. Give me all you got!" Shredder charged towards Donnie in rage. Donnie unsheathed the blade at the top of his staff and ran his direction. When the two met in the middle both of their blade clashed together. Shredder shoved him back having Donnie slide back in his stance. Donnie dodged Shredder's next attack and began landing blows on his enemy. When Shredder had had enough he back handed Donnie having him stumble back holding the side of his face as the newly formed cuts in his flesh began to burn. Swinging his blades again they made contact to Donnie's staff, cutting the wood in half. Donnie kept a tight grip on the two half's not keeping his eyes away from Oroku Saki's.

Mikey and Raph watched with wide eyes, hearts like pounding drums.

"Karai!" Leo's voice echoed through the hallway. "Karai! Where are you?"  
"Well, look who's come to visit?" the sinister voice sent a chill up his spine. Karai sat on the sill of the brick window, the bright full moon casting her dark shadow over Leo's figure. "If it isn't goody three-toes himself." She jumped down in front of him, one hand resting on the handle of her sword. "I was beginning to think you'd never show up."

"I'm not here to play games, Karai. I'm here to save you." Leo declared, pulling off his goggles.  
"Save me, huh? I think you got yourself confused, Leo. You see you're in Shredder's lair where all aim is pointed at you, not me" She laughed.

"No, you don't understand, Karai." Leo explained. "I'm here to rescue you from Shredder. You're in danger here. The Shredder has been deceiving you, lying to you your whole life. He's using us as pawns in his big master plan and if we don't stop him now I fear something really bad is going to happen."

"Using me?" Karai cackled as she twirled her sword. "The only one being used right now, Leonardo, is you."

"What are you talking about, Karai?" Leo asked.

"Oh, c'mon, Leo! Do you really think Hun would just reveal all of Shredder's plans to you without it being some sort of trap? They're stupid, but they're not that stupid." Karai approached him. "As we speak, your brothers are under restraint by our soldiers and awaiting their doom, and where were you during all of this? Chasing after a loss cause and wrapped up in the lies and fantasy that had been spoon fed to you since you were a baby. The world's about to come into a whole new perspective and the only thing you are here, Leonardo, is a fool!"

"Lying! Deceiving! I should've ended you the first moment I had!"

With a hard kick, Donnie was nailed in the stomach. Dropping the pieces of his staff with weak hands, Shredder's fist made contact making him fall to his knees. Holding his stomach, he leaned forward trying to consume the pain and anything that may force its way back up, keeping one hand on the ground to hold himself up.

"Leave him alone!" Raph demanded, kicking to try to free himself from the Foot soldier's grasp.

"It's time for you to meet your fate. To be put out of your misery, mutant." Shredder kicked the pieces of Donnie's staff to the other side of the room. Donnie huffed out a heavy sigh as he stumbled back on to his feet. Swinging his fist, his Shredder laughed again as his foot made contact to Donnie's chest, knocking him down again. His weak body slid across the floor before Donnie got back on his knees, his arms holding him up.

"Did you actually think you could defeat me?" Shredder roared. "You are only turtles. Reptiles!" He stomped his foot down on Donnie's shell, having him fall on to the ground once more.

"PLEASE, please stop!" Mikey begged.  
"You are all nothing but animals." He grasped the top of Don's plastron and lifted him into the air.  
"You son of a BITCH!" Raph screamed as Shredder's eyes met his.  
"And it's time someone put you in your rightful place."

"NO!"

Donnie's brown eyes squeezed shut as the metal blade broke through his plastron and through the skin underneath, his cries were the only sound in the room. "End of the line, foul creature."  
With a twist, Saki retracted the blade and tossed Donnie back on to the ground. His brother's starred with wide opened eyes, unable to muster a sound.

"Y-you... you… YOU MONSTER!" Raph shrieked at the top of his lungs.

"Release them." He ordered as he walked out of the room.  
The Foot soldiers released their arms, dropping them to their knees from their struggle.

Raph stumbled back on to his feet as he sprinted towards his little brother lying helpless on the ground. Scarlet liquid ran down the turtle's arm and into the puddle on the floor, starting at the cracks and two holes coming from his stomach area. Raph began to hyprvenalate as his trembling hands hovered over his brother, trying to figure out how to help him. Mikey remained in the same position the Foot soldiers left him in. His baby blue eyes were gaping wide as he starred at the image before him.

"Oh god, Oh god!" Raph's voice trembled as he finally slid one hand under the crook of Donnie's neck and the across his torso. "Oh god, oh god, oh god…" Giving his body a slight lift, a blood curdling scream escaped Donnie's mouth having Raph release him on to his lap, shudders running down his spine. Raph had never seen his brother in so much pain in their life as his olive green hand latched on to Raph's bicep. His eyes were squeezed shut as his breathing was quick, his fractured chest rising and dropping at a rapid speed.

"Mikey! Go get April and the Shellraiser now!" Raph yelled to his youngest brother. Mikey showed no sign of moving. "D-Donnie…h-he was-" he trembled.

"MIKEY I SAID NOW!" Raph snapped in rage. As if he was slapped in the face, Mikey's breath hitched as he blinked his eyes a couple times. He jumped to his feet and raced out the door. No Foot soldier stopped him.

"R…R-Raph…I…" Don's voice trembled as he swallowed hard. "No, No, Don't speak, Donnie, please!" Raph shushed him, "Don't speak- You're going to be fine!" Don inhaled a deep breath, his chest beginning to tighten as his fingertips dug deeper into Raph's arm. "Everything's good. Ju-Just keep breathing normally a-and you'll be alright." Donnie's eyes squeezed shut as tears escaped his eye lids, his other hand clenching his stomach as it was buried in red. With a quick glance at his wound, Donnie's eyes shot back up as a small cry escaped his lips. His whole body began to tremble more.

"N-No…I can't-"

"Don't you dare talk like that!" Raph's voice was harsh but there was worry as well. "You are going to be fine! Here just… just look at me, ok?" Using his right hand, he directed Donnie's head so his eyes would meet his own. "See? Everything's fine." He forced a reassuring smile as Donnie's eyes searched his. "Just keep looking at me."

The purple-clad ninja's brown eyes were lost in his brother's lime green. The tight grip on his arm began to loosen, leaving behind three red marks. Why hadn't he noticed how bright his brother's green eyes were? They were the only things he could see now. Just two bright orbs.

"Mikey's going to get April now. They'll be here soon and then we'll get you to lair and Splinter will fix you up, ok? Splinter will know what to do."

Donnie's eyes remained starring in to his eyes, his breathing relaxed. "Everything's ok." Raph began to rock back and forth for comfort while his eyes darted around the room for any sign of their allies. "I promise."

When his eyes dropped back to Donnie's, their light was gone. His breath hitched as he bit his lower lip, eyes shut to stop the flow of tears from escaping. His hand shook violently as he wiped away the last of the blood that trickled out of the side of Don's mouth. "It's going to be ok." He assured himself. "It's ok, it's ok." His voice cracked as he brought his brother closer to him. The lump in his throat was growing unbearable as he choked out a sob. "Please." He begged, "Please, don't leave me, Donnie." He dropped his face into the crook of his brother's neck. "PLEASE don't take my brother away!" His pleads were now turning into cries. "Please don't take Donnie!"

Skidding to a stop, April and Mikey gasped at the image they ran in to find. April's hand immediately clasped over her mouth. She collapsed to her knees as she watched Raph sob into his deceased brother.


	4. Has-Been Heroes

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> A turtle takes a trip down memory lane and reflects how everything went to hell

~20 years later~

"Serve the Shredder or parish" Rang through the silent air as citizens trudged on in their morning lines, ready for another hard day at work. 18 hours of slave labor with no breaks didn't seem like a fair choice but it was better than an unmerciful death. The once clear blue skies were clouded with the black smoke that came from the factories that replaced the proud skyscrapers of New York City. The citizens swiped their working cards on the scanners by the doors, both heavily guarded by soldiers dressed in all black with only a red symbol on the band around their upper arm.

The symbol of the Foot.

Not everyone in the city was willing to give in to these new terms of living. Rumors have spread throughout the area of a resistance group that was among them inside the walls of Lord Shredder's empire. Rumors a not-so-young turtle above all hoped were true. Although time had been a bit kinder to him for once, the years still showed. His bright green skin had grown darker over the years, but his muscles were still strong. In his squatting position on top of one of the factories, he watched the humans below carry on, still glad that his wish to become human never came true. Readjusting the leather band around the end of his upper arm, he grabbed his nunchaku and leaped from the roof.

Running across the roof tops never felt the same as it did all those years ago. Back when things were simpler. Back when things were happier.

Jumping into the ally to avoid a helicopter spotlight, he climbed into the nearest sewer hole. He landed down in a puddle of cold sewer water before marching on. He brushed his fingertips along the cold, damp, bricked walls. It had been years since he'd been down this tunnel but it was almost an instinct to go this way.

It wasn't really home anymore. He didn't have a home. When night came and the night patrollers were out, he'd find somewhere to hide and maybe sleep if he was able to talk himself down to it. There was hardly any more fighting for him. He'd do it only if it was necessary, but other than that it would only bring back old unwanted memories. Heck, if it wasn't for his nunchaku serving as his left arm he would've gotten rid of it as well, along with his childish personality.

He could tell he was getting closer when the cement walls began to show larger cracks; rubble remains scattered all over the ground. It had been forever since the turtle had returned to the old lair, but he was running low on supplies. The old lair had been abandoned for years ever since the first bombs were dropped:

\----

The silver marble dropped between the two paddles with a cling. Mikey's bright blue eyes shot up to the final score: 100, his high score: 376380.

Pinball was a lot harder with only one hand to use.

With disappointed sigh he turned to lean his back against the machine. Raph was slouched into the beanbag chair, flipping through channels with the same bored expression plastered across his face. Mikey's eyes trailed over to the silver padlock over the door handles to the set of sliding doors to the right. They've been locked ever since its owner was unable to use it. His eyes fell to the floor as he walked over to sit on the ledge next to his brother.

"Here, try to find something good to watch." Raph said, handing him back the remote.  
Taking the controller, Mikey began flipping through channels until he came across a rerun of a familiar show. Super Robo Mega Force Five. Mikey looked down at Raph. "I don't want to watch this." He replied, eyes trailing away from the screen.

A crash from the dojo made them both immediately turn their heads in that direction.

"That's not good."

After a few seconds of muffled yelling, Leo stormed out of the dojo towards the bedrooms.  
"Rough training, fearless?" Raph mocked. Leo continued stomping away, ignoring Raph's comment. "I'll go see the damage." Mikey sighed, tossing the remote next to Raph's chair.  
"Good luck."

When Mikey walked in he wasn't surprised to see things thrown around on the ground. Splinter sat on his knees in the center of the room, starring down at a shuriken in his hands. Kneeling in front of his sensei, Mikey put his hand on top of the symbol. Splinter looked up at him, his brown eyes heavy with grief and lack of sleep. Mikey flashed an up lifting smile, his fingers clasping around the throwing star as he slowly pulled it out of his father's hands.

"I guess Leo is having another bad day, huh, sensei?" Mikey spoke, picking up the rest of the things scattered around them. "Yes, but I do fear there are not many good days left in him." splinter spoke still starring at the ground. "I bet there is. I'm sure eventually he'll move on and be the same Leo we know and love."

"But, these things do take time, to lose something is one thing, but to lose someone," Splinter's eyes trailed over to the worn out, wooden bo staff that hung horizontally on the wall with a torn faded piece of purple cloth wrapped around it under the picture of his previous family. "That is another."

Mikey sighed taking his sight away from the staff. "It'll all turn out fine in the end." Mikey stood, extending his hand to his father. "You'll see." Taking his hand, Mikey helped Splinter up. His eyes glanced over to the white bandages wrapped around what was left of his son's left arm.

"Hey, I'm fine now. It doesn't hurt anymore." Mikey assured him. With those words something on the surface made the leaves on the tree in the center of the room rustle.

"What was that?" Mikey glanced at the ceiling  
"Something is not right."

The ground began to shake beneath them making hard for them to stay balanced on their feet.  
"Father, what's happening?" Mikey asked as Raph ran in. "We need to get out of here, now!"  
"What about Leo?" Mikey asked as they darted into the pit. Looking around the lair they noticed the hallway to the bedrooms was blocked off. "We got to help him!" Mikey exclaimed running towards the rooms before anyone could stop him.

Inside, Leo slammed his body against the door, trying to push it open but something was blocking the way. Mikey and Raph pulled on the large metal pipe to try to move it out of the way. With the three of theirs strength, the pipe moved enough for Leo to escape. "What's going on?" Leo asked as the room shook again.

"Head towards the gates!" Raph and Mikey did as they're told and sprinted to the exit of the lair. Leo ran into the dojo to find Splinter.

"Sensei, we have to go, now!" Splinter grabbed the purple cloth around the wooden staff on the wall and darted towards his son. As they headed for the gates the large spiral staircase attached to the ceiling began to creak, hinting its metal bars holding it up we're giving out.

"Leonardo!" Splinter pushed his son out of the way as it collapsed between them, showing no escape for Splinter. "Master Splinter!" Leo cried trying to lift it out of the way, but it was too heavy for him.

"Leave, Leonardo. Go with your brothers!"  
"No, I'm not leaving you, father."  
"Leonardo I order you!"

"No, I'm not going anywhere!" Splinter slipped the cloth from his hand to Leo's. "Keep you and your brothers safe." Then with a shove Leo fell back past the gate. With a final glance, his eyes met with Splinter's as the lair came crashing in.

"SENSEI!"

Raindrops slid down the cold glass windows as the heavy rain began to slow down. Each drop of water that ran down the surface Mikey's blue eyes followed. Inside, the Shellraiser was quiet. Enough that you could almost feel the silence. Raph sat with his feet up running his fingers along the edges of his sai while Leo sat stiff behind the wheel with the same serious expression on his face and the purple cloth tied around his upper arm. Mikey lifted his head with a sigh that rang through everyone's ears.  
"So, where are we going?" He asked.

No one responded.

His eyes fell back to his arm rested on the table then he laid his head back down.  
Where were they supposed to go? Their home was destroyed. Shredder had made his first attack by sending soldiers to bomb Manhattan.

Several escaped. The rest were killed.

Each of them knew there would be more, but what were they to do about it? They had lost the brains of their group and now they were fatherless.

Orphans

When Leo pulled into the sewers he immediately put it in park and walked outside. Sitting up, Raph followed him out.

"So, now what, fearless." he asked Leo. "What do you mean 'now what'? What is there to do?" he spit back. "I just figured you must have some idea of a plan-"

"Why would I have a plan? I never see you two coming up with any ideas-why does everyone think I have the outcome to everything!"

"Maybe because you're our leader? Our older brother? It's your job!" Raph shouted back.

"I am no one's leader. Leaders don't fail."  
"Leo-"  
"I'm going for a walk."

"No, you're not!" Raph grabbed Leo's shoulder and spun him back around. "Do not touch me!" Leo shoved Raph away from him.

"No! We can't keep living like this, Leo. You can't keep leaving us behind! Do you think this is what anyone wants? For you to abandon us when we need each other the most! Would Splinter want this? Do you think this is what Donnie would've wanted?"

"Enough!" Leo shouted, his hands shooting for the top of his head as he turned his back to him. "No! Not this time. Ever since Donnie died you've been nothing but a jerk to all of us! All you do is yell and shut us out!"

"Do not put this on Donatello! You know we don't speak of him."

"Why not? Don't you think it'd be better for us! We can't go on with our lives just pretending he never existed!"  
"Stop it!"  
"You're not the only one who misses him, Leo. We all miss him. We all want him back! But we can't change that and because you can't accept that Master Splinter is dead!" With no warning Leo turned around and punched Raph square in the face. The force sent him against the Shellraiser.

"Raph!" Mikey ran from the doorway of the shellraiser where he was standing to help his brother up. Raph glared up at Leo with dark fury in his eyes as he wiped the blood from his mouth. Glancing down at his clenched fist, Leo's eyes went wide before narrowing back down.

"If you don't like the way I'm running things... then why don't you just leave."  
"Fine. I will!" Raph turned and started to walk away, Leo going in the opposite direction.  
"W-wait, guys! Don't go. We can work this out like always-please stay!" Mikey pleaded.  
Both of his brothers ignored him.

\---

The 35 year old turtle stood in the middle of the tunnel, glancing at both ends. Closing his eyes with a deep sigh, he trudged towards the entrance. He leaned against the archway, resting his head against the damp cement. The lair looked exactly the same as it did when he left it.

Broken and abandoned. It almost reminded him of himself.

Piles of old bricks stacked up to the ceiling and with the fallen cement pillars blocking the pathway it was almost nearly impossible to get through. A thick layer of dust covered the top of everything. Small amounts of light shined in through the cracks of the ceiling, giving the room a dark, abandoned atmosphere. Everything was as he left it. The only thing that really stuck out in the room was the door to Donnie's lab. The lock was gone and the doors were wide open.


	5. The Things We've Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April and her team travel through the sewers

"Alright, kiddies line up! Our leader is about to give orders and I want this room dead silent!" The woman commanded having the room fall into dead silence. "That's better." She nodded her head having her two purple ponytails fling around her around her head. The echoing sound of combat boots hitting against cement was the only remaining sound in the room as an older woman waltzed to the center of the stage, her hands crossed behind her back as her fiery red bangs bounced against her crystal, narrowed, scanning eyes.

"Thank you, Commander Angel." She addressed the first woman with a hard, stern tone. "Alright," She announced to the group, "Reports have come in that Shredder's forces have discovered one our bases directly outside the city. We need to head in that direction and stop the Foot from infiltrating that base and destroy any soldiers that enter our turf. We will divide into two teams: half of you will go with Angel and take the roof tops and cut through the forest to get to the base, the other half will come with me. We'll travel underground by going through the old sewer system, the tunnels should lead us directly underneath where we will set up an ambush. It should take us about 3 hours on foot so we'll be leaving immediately. We need to get there before day break."  
"Yes, ma'am!" The group saluted.  
"Good, now move out!"

Angel adjusted the holster that ran across her torso as her leader loaded her weapons. Her bright green eyes examined her body language, she could tell something was on her mind.

"So, are you going to be ok traveling through the sewers?" Angel's voice lingered for a moment before she could find a response. "Of course I am." She spoke straightening her back. "Why wouldn't I be?"

"It's just that, some history went down in those tunnels. Just making sure that's not going to affect anything… or anyone." The woman slammed her gun on to the table her eyes not meeting Angel's as she leaned over the counter. "I am perfectly capable of traveling underground. I've done it before, this time is not any different!" She raged but her voice was leveled. "What happened in the past is in the past and is not my problem anymore, is that clear?"

"Whatever you say, April." Angel shrugged.

\-------

April's troops trudged through the abandoned subway tunnels with light of their flashlights and the rusted rails as their only guide. All subway tunnels had been left to rot after Shredder's take over. The only real way of transportation was the assigned busses that would pick up groups of people at one specific pick up zone and cram as much of them inside, leaving not even enough room to turn your head, and take you to your single destination that was where you went to work for 18 hours. If you missed the bus, you would not be able to go to work that day. If you missed a day of work, you would be punished.

"Watch your step! These tunnels have abandoned for years." April ordered. "These walls are willing to give in at any moment!"

It wasn't before long until April started to feel a sense of Déjà vu. At one point in her life, she could walk these tunnels blindfolded and still reach her desired destination.

The lair had always been her safe haven for many years. It was her only escape from her stressful ordinary life and was filled with people who loved and cared about her. She always believed it to be too good to be true, but like all good thing it had to come to an end.

\--

A cool breeze blew through the warm air and rustled the leaves above her. Her legs had begun to grow numb under the weight of her body as she shifted her weight to ease the pain. Her eyes remained fixed on slab of stone before her, her finger tips brushing over the petals of the freshly laid iris on top of the newly topped soil.

"Goodbye, my hero." April spoke faintly as if he could still hear her six feet underground. A single tear slid down the surface of her cheek before she brushed it away at the sound of approaching steps.

"Gotten a response yet?" Casey voice broke through the silence as he sat next to her.

"This just seems to be the only place I can go to escape reality." April responded as she swiped away any loose tears.

"Well, Donnie always was the one who could cheer you up." He flashed an uplifting smile her way before looking in the direction of her eyes.

"I can't believe he's gone." April sighed. "It doesn't even feel real. I feel like if I was to go back to the lair now he'd be inside his lab asleep with his head rested in his arms on his desk and there would be a long line of line of letters across his computer screen from being rested on the key board and he would be softly snoring with his mouth opened just enough to see the gap between his two front teeth…" April stopped herself short of the memory when the lump in her throat cut off her voice.

"Things certainly aren't the same without him." Casey faced forward. "Things will never be the same."

"How was Mikey before you left?" April asked once she found her voice.

"Not that great. He was still refusing to eat when I left and all he's been doing lately is laying in his bed and refusing to talk to anyone." Casey answered. "I don't blame him though. I'm just proud that he's been keeping it together for this long. Watching Donnie get killed and now this, and with Raph checked out- he's stronger than all of us."

"If Donnie was here Mikey wouldn't have lost his arm." April commented. "He would've been able to stop that infection without taking drastic measures."  
"How were we suppose to know that that simple cut on the arm from Shredder would've led to that mess?"  
"Donnie would've known."  
"If Donnie was here we wouldn't be in this hell at all."  
"We should've never tried to attack Shredder head on." April sighed.

Casey glanced down at his hand draped over his raised knee. "So what are we supposed to do now?"

"What is there to do now?" April implied. "The turtles are no condition to fight, Shredder's has already gained control of most of New York as well as the Kraang, people are being executed or being put into slave camps, and there's no one left to stop them!"

"Well, I wouldn't say there's no one." Casey met her eyes.

"What are you trying to say, Casey?"

"Nothing, I'm just implying that we're the only ones who has had history with these guys and know their strengths and their weaknesses."

"So?"

"So, what if we actually put that to use and created a resistance team! You know like in those old Si-fi movies we all used to watch."

"That's the craziest thing you've ever come up with." April replied flatly. "No, I'm serious, Red. We could assemble a group of people from all over the city and create an organization to take down Shredder. Raph and I could train them in hand to hand combat, Leo would be in charge of making the plans and assigning people based of their skill sets. You and Mikey could work with weaponry- this could work." Casey explained.

"Honestly, Casey, I still think you're suffering from that concussion Tiger Claw gave you." April looked to Casey for a hint that would tell her he was joking, but he wasn't. "Are you serious? Where would we find people to do this? Where would we even set up a base where Shredder wouldn't find us? A-and look at the turtles now. Do you really think they're in any condition to do this?"

"Well, I didn't expect it to happen overnight." Casey shrugged.

"I-I don't know Casey. I mean, with everything that's been going on lately I just don't know how that could work. I think it would just be best if we just stayed low and in the lair for now. At least there it's safe." April answered.

"And what if it comes time it won't be?" Casey asked.  
"If that day comes…I'll take you up on your suggestion."

\---

Eventually, that day did come and April was true to her word. It toke some time to put everything together, but soon enough their resistance team was formed, but without the turtles. Their army consisted of both mutants and humans that they had rescued or recruited throughout the years. April and Casey directed and trained their soldiers until their duo broke after a helicopter accident.

April kept starring ahead as she tried to ignore the flood of memories. Before too long the small cracks began to multiply. She found herself stepping over clumps of bricks before stopping in her tracks. She lifted her hand to stop her troops' march when they approach the barrier of the collapsed ceiling. Two of her soldiers pushed away a large block of cement, revealing a small passage.

"I will move forward alone to see if we can continue down this path." April informed before slipping through the opening.

The tunnel was completely empty with an eerie unsettling feeling of emptiness in its atmosphere. It was here that April had once called home. Another blockade of stone appeared at her left, but it wasn't as thick as the one before. She pushed against the stone which caused it to tumble forward enough for her to crawl over it. The room before her was a disaster. Broken glass and fallen stone scattered all over the ground that her boots made a loud crunching sound everywhere she stepped as if she was walking on gravel. She couldn't walk too far into the lair due to the wall of crumbling cement in the middle of the lair that blocked off the bedrooms. She wasn't there when this place fell apart and she hadn't come back since. Her heart felt heavy in her chest at the sight of it now. Her eyes trailed around the room until they came to a stop at the rusted sliding doors attached to the wall at her left and the silver padlock on their handles.

She hated that lock.

Walking up to the doors, she toke the lock in her hand and looked over it. The three wheels of numbers on the side were all set on zero and she had no time to sit and figure out what their code would be, but she was curious. No one had entered the lab after the lock was put on. Who knows what's in there now? She wondered how damaged it was in there after the bombing.

Taking out the old metal baseball bat that was sticking out of her backpack she began hitting it against the rusted arch in the lock. With a snap the lock broke, falling to the ground with a clang. Struggling to pry the doors open, she got it pushed apart just enough to slid through it sideways. The rusted metal doors screeched against the cement floor. Upon entering, her heart sank at sight what this once thriving room has now become.

Everything was rusted and broken. Most of the inventions were in pieces, decayed from over time to the point where you wouldn't have known what they even were. The vehicle that served as the Bat-mobile to the turtle team was now rusted to almost nothing. The tires had gone flat and it was engulfed in cobwebs and dust like everything else. She walked further into the room around the large device cloaked with a brown cover that had been the latest of his creations. Giving the cloak a slight lift, a metal pillar met her eyes that had so many wires sticking out of it and a thin lair of rust that she couldn't even guess what it was.

The walls and most of the floor and ceiling was consumed by a large amount of ivy that desperately reached for the light that shined through the cracks and holes in the ceiling where moonlight was able to pour in. Following one of the beams, they landed on one particular object that flooded her mind with more depressing memories.

The head of Donnie's beloved robotic friend.

Stepping over the decayed tools and knocked over cabinets, she walked over to the table.

Picking up the head, she starred into its dark unlit eyes. Thinking back to the day Donnie created him, she realized they both had a lot in common.

Both had eyes full of light. Both were able to bring joy to those around him. Both protected those they loved. Both very intelligent. And now, both were dead.

Just as if he left with his master.

Something in her couldn't bring herself to put him down, to leave him sitting there for another 20 years until he was nothing. She couldn't do that to Donnie.

Opening the top of her bag, she slid him inside until he perfectly fit. Zipping it back up, she walked towards the doors. Taking one last glance back, April darted out of the lair to reunite with her team.


	6. Enemy of My Enemy Is My Friend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April discovers a dark secret

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter serves as a part 2 to the previous chapter because it had grown too long.   
> ~Enjoy

The red-haired woman let out an exhausted sigh as she pushed open the door to her dorm with her right shoulder. The ambush toke the rest of the night and into the next day, but eventually the Foot soldiers made the decision to retreat after Angel and her forces arrived. There's no doubt that they'll have to relocate their outside base, but that is a problem that could be resolved after her soldiers had a rest.

Walking in, she slid her backpack of her back and let it hit the floor with a thud. The heavy sound reminded her of what she picked up on her travels. Taking Metalhead's head out of her backpack, she set him on her desk in the corner. She leaned forward so the two were eye to eye and gave him and uplifting smile.

"I know, Metalhead. I miss him too."

Placing her hand on top of his head, a mysterious pink beam shot out and scanned over her palm. She jerked her hand back as the robot's eyes flashed back to life. Gears whirled to life inside the head before his mouth widely opened alone, shinning a bright light towards the opposite wall.

"Hey, April."

The breath immediately left her lungs as the voice echoed through her mind and the room. She slowly turned around to face the image projected on to her wall. Donnie's dark brown chestnut eyes were staring back at her.

"If you're watching this… it means I'm dead- And you were snooping around my lab and stole metalhead's head, but that's totally ok."

April breathed out a soft laugh through the hand over her mouth as she starred at him with tears stuck to the corners of her eyes. It had been so long since she had heard his voice, since she had seen his face. His gentle smile lit up the room, the gap between his teeth made her heart skip.

"I'm sorry to have to inform you of this now, but I know more things about our enemy then you think." He spoke, his tone dropping. "Right now, Shredder has taken over New York City and quite possibly the world using a portal that allows him to travel to different dimensions and through time and has built an empire over the ruins of his destruction. I know this now because… I'm the one who built it."

April shut metalhead's mouth with a whack of her hand, darkness filling the room once more. Her thoughts swam in her head: How did he know this? How long had he'd know this? By the way he looked in the projection this had to be recorded over 20 years ago. This was a hoax. A scam. A Foot device to get inside her head and weaken her. Although, it had been so long since she heard that gentle voice.

With slight hesitation, she reopened the projection.

"I didn't mean for this to happen." He sighed, eyes staring at the floor. "Trust me, it wasn't any of my intention. While out for a walk through the junk yard like any other night I was attacked. The Foot captured me and assured I was never going to see the light again. Honestly, I was scared. I thought I was never going to see any of you ever again. When they had taken me to Shredder I thought he was going to kill me then and there…but instead he made me a deal. I was to work with the Kraang and create his desired portal. He'd allow me to go home every night before dawn but I wasn't allowed to tell anyone in fear of you guys stopping him. If I did he'd kill all of you. He said he knew we lived in the sewers and that was all the information he needed. So, I played along for the longest time until it was nearly completed. Stockman and I switched the controls so instead of teleporting the molecules to a different destination it vaporizes them. I thought it would save me some time to figure out an alternative way to stop him, but time is running out and I know Shredder's not going to be happy to see me next time."

There was a pause in his voice before he continued.

"Now if what I'm saying makes no since and everything is fine you can turn this off and do whatever you want with it.

Sorry for wasting your time.

But, if what I say is true than I know exactly what to do to stop him.  
Go to my lab. As of right now, in the corner of the opposite side of the room there are sheets covering a large device. That device is an exact copy of the portal I made for Shredder except this one actually works, but isn't finished. Find someone to fix it. Anyone! Once its working properly get one of my brothers, it could be one it could be all it doesn't matter. Set the date for the portal to March 18, 2014 and send my brothers here.I need them to save us. To fix all of my mistakes.  
If the plan is successful it should change everything back to normal. The blueprints are in my lab in a safe in the bottom drawer of my desk. Theirs a passcode lock on it and the combination is your birthday. Something you'd easily know."

As he spoke April ran around to the back of her desk to grab a pencil and a piece of paper to write all of this down. As she glanced back up at the projection, Donnie released a heavy sigh. His eyes were staring at the floor as his expression changed.

"Look, I don't know how much was said in my… final moments, but I just want you guys to know that I'm doing this to protect you, I couldn't live with myself if any of you were hurt because of me. I just hate-" Donnie inhaled deeply. "I just hate that it toke me till now to realize how much I am really going to miss you guys, and how I spent most of my life stuck in this stupid lab. You all are my family and I love you guys so much."

A single tear ran down April's cheek, for her eyes never left the screen.

"I just hope someday you'll be able to forgive me for what I've probably put you guys through."

In the background of the video was a knock at the door followed by what sounded like Leo's voice. "Hey, Donnie. Pizza's here!"

"Remember the plan and make sure everything is successful. Fix the future.  
I believe in you. Goodbye, April."

The recording shut off.

April's eye still starred at the wall. The silence began to consume her, for the recording was no longer playing his sweet voice. She glanced down rushed handwriting on her paper. She trusted him with this plan. He was counting on her and she wasn't going to fail him.

Not again.

If this plan was to work, though, she was going to need help. And she knew the perfect turtle who would do it.

"Hey, Angel." She spoke into her communicator, "I need a recruiting team."


	7. New Face, Same Man

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Leo mourns over the things he has lost over the years

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For some reason I find Leo hard to write so bare with me.

A boy was thrown into the two standing trash bins, them hitting the ground with a loud crash. As he tried to get up, his eyes searched with fear at the shadows before him, searching for his attacker. A monstrous hand emerged from the darkness and grabbed him by the shirt to lift him in the air. The hot breath of his attacker was hitting against his face.

"The next time you try to rob me, I won't be so generous." He growled. "Understand?"

"Y-Yes, sir." The boy's voice quivered.

"Now, beat it, kid." Releasing his grip, the boy fell to the ground then scurried away. Adjusting the collar of his drench coat, the man turned to leave before the sound of one clearing their throat stopped him in his tracks.

"This all seems a little dark for you, huh, fearless?"

The man released a long aggravated sigh before turning his head in the direction of the voice. "What do you want?" His voice was rough and hoarse. The owner of the other voice jumped down from the ledge he was crouched on and landed into the same ally as him. "Can't I just say 'hi' to my older brother?"

"Knowing you, you're probably just here to cause trouble, Raphael."

"Nah, not this time, Leo," He smirked, leaning against the brick building. "Then what do you want?" Leo narrowed his gaze.

"Can't we just cut the crap and talk for a minute?" Raph asked taking a step forward. "I don't want to talk with you." Leo growled. "Well, I didn't ask what you wanted." Raph continued to walk forward so Leo unsheathed his sword, aiming it at Raph. Raph held up his hands in surrender, but Leo kept his narrowed gaze at the ground. "Leave me alone, Raph." He replied sternly

"No, I did not come back to this hell of a city to put up with your attitude." Raph snapped back.  
"Then what did you come back for?" Leo asked him. "You were able to somehow by pass shredder's army and get past his indestructible wall and escape the city and yet you came back. Why?"

"Because I have a family here that needs me."

"I don't need you, Raph."

"I wasn't talking about you. You left our family, remember? You didn't need us." Raph insisted

"And you think they need you! I'm sure they're fine where they're at and they especially don't need you putting them in danger and filling their heads with false hope like you're so good at."

"What the fuck is that supposed to mean?" Raph asked.

"You know what that's supposed to mean! I've never trusted you after your little fall out, but somehow you were able to convince everyone else that you were fine and look where that led us. Well, not this time. Everyone's better off without your sorry ass pulling them along." Leo protested.

"Oh, and you're any better? 'Oh woe was me!' 'Oh I've failed you father!' 'I'll never be the ninja master I was destined to be!' 'If only I was there instead of keeping my head in my ass I might've actually saved the day!' Well, news flash, oh great one, nobody's perfect! Man, you're so full of shit, Leo! And you're trying to protect me from them? Then tell me, Leonardo, where's Mikey at? Or April? Tell me how they're doing." Raph tilted his head as a waited for a response. Leo's eyes averted Raph's as he loosened his tight fist. "That's what I thought. At least I'm willing to risk my life to return to this hell hole and fix the damage I've caused. What do you have to show for twenty years of mistakes? A couple of new scars I see."

Leo sheathed his sword, his gaze still narrowed at Raph. "I don't need to stand here and listen to you bitch to me again, Raph." Leo finally responded. "And neither do they, so why don't you just go back to whatever hole you crawled out of and leave us alone."

"So, you're never going to try to forgive me, huh?" Raph asked, stuffing his hands in the pocket of his brown leather jacket. "Or even try to listen to what I was going to tell you?"

"I don't forgive people who decide to stoop as low as you did and whatever you came to tell me you should've known it would be a waste of your time." With that Leo turned his back to begin walking the opposite direction.

"Yeah, go ahead, Leo! Go ahead and turn your back! That's all you've been good at lately!" Raph shouted behind him. Leo continued to walk until he was outside of the towering bricks and into the trees. The forest just outside the city was contained with a barbed wire fence that was higher than Leo could jump and filled with dying trees and dead grass. Even though his eyes were failing him, he could walk this path blindfolded and backwards if needed. Seeing the tall pin oak tree with the single slash through its bark was a sign he was close to his destination. He stopped in front of the two stones that laid next to each other, a bunch of irises that had always mysteriously appeared had started to wither in front of one of them. He got down on his knees, bowing to them.

"Good morning, Sensei. Good morning, Brother."

The two stones before him were both engraved with different names and dates.  
One Hamato Yoshi and the other Donatello.  
Leo sat up straight and ran his fingers against the engravings of Donatello's dates.

'He was only 16' Leo thought, 'Only 16. He was too young to leave us. Too young to die'

Even though he couldn't prevent it, the guilt chewed him up and spit him back out every day since. The thought of not being there when Donnie toke his last breath still haunts him. If he was there could he have prevented it? When he was young and stronger could he have stopped Shredder?

Theses were questions Leo knew would haunt him until the day he died.

What if?

\---

Leo kept his hands tight in fists as stomped through the sewer tunnels, the sound of Mikey calling after them was a faint sound in the background. He didn't need Raph, he didn't need anybody. Almost everyone was dead now and it was their fault. Raph should've saved Donnie. Mikey should've made sure Splinter didn't go back in the dojo. No, it wasn't their fault. It was Shredders. He huffed a large amount of air from his nose before climbing up the nearest ladder to the surface, his rage boiling.

He climbed on top of the nearest building, keeping an eye out for his target. He needed to release this building up anger, and he knew exactly who knew would release it on.

Crouched on to a ledge, his eyes scanned over the streets below until he caught sight of him. The tall man dressed in armor was accompanied by several soldiers at each side of him as he strutted through the streets of his new empire. Leo unsheathed his swords and jumped down into the same street.

"Shredder!" Leo's voice was an anger roar behind him. His soldiers unsheathed their weapons, but Shredder only raised his hand, having them loosen their stances. "You killed my brother. You killed my father. And now, I'm going to kill you."

"Is that so?" Shredder asked, letting his black cape fall into the hands of a nearby soldier.

"This has been going on for long enough, Shredder. You reign of terror must end." Leo raised his swords. "And you are going to be the one who stops me? An army of one?" Shredder intimidated.

"I don't need an army in order to take you down." Leo threatened as he approached him.

"Very well." Shredder stood there as he let Leo make the first move. As Leo jumped to swing his sword down on him, Shredder lifted his arm, the blade hitting off the metal cuff across his wrist before he swung his arm, throwing Leo across the street. Leo skidded to a stop on his feet, his swords creating a skidding sound as the dragged along the concrete. Charging at him again, Shredder unsheathed his gauntlets to give his opponent the fight he desperately wanted.

The two enemy's parried their blades until Shredder toke a round object from his pocket. Throwing it at Leo, it exploded into a burst of black smoke and falling into Leo's face. Leo stumbled back as he retracted his hand against his face, furiously rubbing his burning eyes.

"You think fighting me will quench your vengeance?" Leo tried to open his eyes but all he could see in front of him was a blur of silver growing bigger as it approached him. Leo blinked furiously to try to clear his vision but nothing was helping. Taking a chance, Leo darted forward, swinging his swords at him. Shredder shoved aside one of Leo's blades before giving him a hard kick in the chest. Leo swung his other sword in the process, but Shredder caught it between the two blades from his gauntlets.

"Will fix the mistakes you've made?" With a twist of his wrist, the blade on Leo's sword snapped in half. Shredder landed a punch to Leo's face, which made him stumble back aagain. Leo was out of breath, breathing heavy as he kept his face to the sky to let the light sprinkle of rain wash into his eyes. Shredder began to circle around him, keeping his hands behind his back. "Unfortunately for you, Leonardo, killing me will not bring things back to the way they were. You have failed and there's nothing you can do to redeem yourself now."

Leo rubbed his eyes again, getting frustrated with this loss of sight.

"Tell me, Leonardo, where were you?" Shredder asked as his blade cut across Leo's arm. Leo's hand retracted to his wound, the deep cut burning under the heat of his hand.  
"Where were you when I stuck my blades into your poor brother's chest?" Leo swung his sword with his other hand but Shredder deflected it, side stepping around him to put a cut in his other arm.  
"Where were you when you brother was laying on the floor and beginning for his end?" While behind him, Shredder swung his blade down diagonally, leaving a cute down both of Leo's legs. Leo winced in pain as he dropped to his knees. He gritted his teeth as he tried to avoid the burning pain in his limbs as Shredder walked around to stand in front of him. He aimed his blade down at Leo, the tip just inches away from the space between his eyes. "Where were you when Donatello toke his last breath?"

The rain was now in a down pour mixing in with the blood that was running down Leo's limbs. Every lightning strike in the distance reflected off of Shredder's helmet and was followed by a loud rumble of thunder that made Leo's head ache.

"What are you waiting for?" Leo asked. "You've already won. Just kill me now."

Shredder kept his narrowed gaze at Leo as he retracted his blades. He straightened himself out of his stance leaving Leo starring at him confused and fearful.

"No." Shredder responded. "For as long as I have waited for this day to come I see now that it's not worth it. I now have control over all of New York City and my empire is expanding. You and your brothers are in no position to stop me anymore so what is the use of this petty fighting? Nothing but a waste of my time."

Leo's face fell.

"No, no please." His plead was quiet as Shredder turned to walk away. "No! Y-You can't!" Leo was in shock. 

His mortal enemy had the opportunity to kill him finally. A victory that he had been taunting him with for year and he let him go. He was now a waste of his time.

"Please!" Leo shrieked. "KILL ME!" Shredder only continued to walk away, his dark armor blending in with the dark stormy atmosphere. Leo let the tears mix with the rain drops that were running down his face as he let the handles of his swords fall from his hands. He fell backwards and on to his back, starring up at the storm clouds and letting the rain pour on to him as his wounds bled out.

\---

Leo wiped his eyes from under his glasses, trying not to show the weakness that was consuming him. "Raphael was right, Don." He thought aloud. "I let you down- I let both of you down."  
Letting his hand drop from the stone, he began to choke on his own sobs. Covering his face with his hands, he leaned over his knees. "I'm sorry I failed you." He sobbed. "I'm so sorry."


	8. It's Been So Long

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Raphael gets attacked by a familiar stranger

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now it's Raph's turn to have a chapter. Unfortunately, just like April I wrote his chapter extremely long and it had to be broken up into 2 parts. I don't know how this chapter got so long, but it just did.  
> ~Enjoy

Raphael walked along the tops of the buildings with his back hunched over and his hands stuffed in the pockets of his leather jacket. After all these years, same Leo.

Still demanding tone  
still needing authority  
still an ass.

What had started as sprinkles of rain drops quickly turned into a down pour.

"Great. Just what I was hoping for on this perfect day," Raph growled as he climbed down from the rooftop and into the ally, taking shelter into the nearby factory left to fall apart. With a pull of a lever, the overhead lights flickered on with an echoing buzz. He glanced around, making sure he was alone. The cement floor was a maze of towers of old crates with a catwalk hovering above it on the urge of collapsing. With a sigh he sat on one of the crates, rubbing his hands along his face.

Why did he even bother trying to consult with Leo? Had he really gown that desperate?  
Even after 20 years of having no contact with one another he still held a grudge with him. Not even attempting to let go of the past.

And Mikey. He didn't even know where to begin with him. After they had last seen each other it had felt like Mikey had fallen off the face of the earth. He never had to worry about Leo surviving on his own, but Mikey? Would he be ok alone? And for how long? He was injured when he last saw him and in a world where the weak are overpowered and killed he didn't stand a chance.

With a moment of flickering, the overheads shut off, leaving Raph in silence. "Hello?" His voice echoed through the darkness. Raphael cautiously unsheathed his sai, listening closely for any sign of an attacker. Taking in all his ninja senses, he closed his eye and listened. Silent footsteps echoed through his head coming from a few feet away.

"Alright, I don't know what your game is but I'm not in the mood, so why don't you just turn back on the lights, I'll leave, and this doesn't have to get worse." Raph announced holding up his hands as he steeped backward, further into the pillars of crates. As soon as he heard the clicking of a gun he only had a few seconds to react before neon pink laser bullets shot right by his head.

"Alright, you want to play games? Let's play." Raph ran full force at where the lasers came from. Making out a figure in the darkness, he swung his fist towards it. Dodging his attacks, the figure shot at him again, missing. Raph wheel kicked in the air and hit against something followed by the sound of the weapon hitting the ground.

"Whacha got besides guns?" The sound of chains echoed before they wrapped around Raph's ankles. With a pull, he hit the floor and was pulled towards the attacker. Raph toke out his sai and broke the chain in half. He threw five throwing stars that direction as he scurried to his feet readying his fists. A hard wooden object hit him across the face knocking him back. The turtle spit out blood on to the concrete then cracked his knuckles. "Not bad. Now, it's my turn." Using every one of his trained senses, Raph felt his attacker's presence circle around him. When he came around behind him, Raph made his move. With a powerful kick backwards, he knocked him back. He listened to the path of stumbling feet before tackled the guy and pinning him to the ground.

"Now how tough are ya?" Without warning the assaulter spit in Raph's eye and threw him off of him while he was distracted. "Alright, that was just gross." Raph said in disgust as he went to wipe his eye. A flash of lightning from outside lighted up the room as the figure jumped on to a nearby crate and climbed on to the catwalk.

"You're not getting away that easily, ya little brat!" Raph kicked up a metal pipe that was laying on the ground and threw it. Hitting a rusted area, the cat walk began to make a loud creaking sound before giving in and collapsing on to the ground. "Now where are ya?" Jumping out of wreckage the attacker tackled him having them roll on the ground in a wrestle. Raph held the guy to the ground putting all his weight on top of the guy to keep him from escaping. "Now who has the advantage?" Only a growl escaped from his attacker's lips.

"Do your worst."

Suddenly, his attacker's voice made its way into his mind untangling old memories. The man's voice was rough but deep down there was warmth. A familiar warmth.

"M-Mikey?" The foe grew less tense under him at the sound of that name.

"Raph? Is that... is that really you?"

Raph couldn't believe what he was hearing as he stood up. His little brother was here! Breathing! Living! Raph sheathed his sai and helped him up, drawing him closer to get a better look. His bandana was now replaced with an orange mask that covered the top half of his head, ending just above the freckles splattered across his cheeks. There was a metal plate over the end of his left arm and his wooden knee pads were replaced iron ones.

"It is you!" Without a moment of hesitation, Raph threw his arms around his neck, catching Mikey by surprise. It had been forever since he had felt the warm embrace from another person, especially from either of his brothers. Love wasn't a necessity for him anymore, but now here was his older brother standing before him with his arms wrapped around his shoulders. With a slight hesitation, Mikey gently patted Raph's shell. "It's... It's good to see you too, Raph." A small smile appeared on both of their faces.

"Now, do you think you can turn back on the lights?"

\--

The two brothers sat on top of the factory together, the sun setting on the horizon giving the empire an orange glow in the sky as the humidity from the early rainfall grew.

"So, after pretty much falling off the face of the earth for twenty years, you decided to come back to this hell hole?" Mikey asked leaning forward to get a glance at his brother's face.

"Trust me, I didn't really have much of a choice." Raph sighed. "I wanted to get far away from this place as possible and never look back, but it was a lot more difficult than I thought it would be."

"How so?"

"Well, Shredder's army has now taken over the entire Southern part of North and South America, not to mention he has the entire country of Japan in the palm of his hands as well so all that was kind of in my face the whole time I was gone." Raph sighed as he leaned back against the pole that held the sign of the factory. "I hear that" Mikey responded.

"And... I don't know. I guess I just missed you guys. I couldn't help but feel guilty for abandoning everything and everyone, so I decided to stop in." Raph shrugged.

"I wish Leo felt that way." Mikey huffed as he sat up straight. "Me too." A moment of silence consumed the two men before Raph glanced over at his little brother. His skin was no longer its vibrant young green but an older leafy green shade and his eyes were so full of grief that they clouded the happiness that consumed them all those years ago.

Part of that was his fault. He knew the harsh impact he was putting on everyone after Donnie's death and yet he ignored it. Especially when it came to Mikey. If he could change anything from that time in their life, it would be the way pushed Mikey away when he needed him the most.

\----------

Mikey let out another cry of rage as the roll of gauze fell to the floor once again. He bent down and picked it up and threw himself back on his stool for the hundredth time. He kept the roll on his left shoulder and held it down with his chin as he toke his other hand and began wrapping the cloth around the end of his shoulder. As the wrap began to engulf his wound, the end of the wrap began sliding off the end of his shoulder and causing Mikey to let out an aggravated sigh. In defeat, he threw the medical wrap across the room and wrapped his other arm across his torso.

"Having troubles, Michelangelo?" a gentle voice asked from the entrance of the kitchen. "Yeah, I-I need help." Mikey mumbled back avoiding eye contact. Splinter picked up the gauze and toke a seat next to his youngest son. "Why are your brothers not assisting you with this?"

"Leo toke a walk in the sewers a couple hours ago so who knows when he'll be back and Raph's locked himself in his room again." Mikey replied bluntly as he starred ahead, trying to keep his rage consumed.

"It is very rare that I see Raphael outside of his room anymore." Splinter admitted. "Yeah, I wander why." Mikey replied with sarcasm as planted his chin on to surface of his knuckle. The silence from his father immediately began the guilt in the pit of his stomach.

"I-I'm sorry, sensei, I didn't mean to be rude." He quickly apologized. "I've just been really frustrated these past couple of days."

"You have every right to be, my son." Splinter responded as he finished securing the bandage. "These last few weeks have not been kind to you, Michelangelo, part of that is my fault."

"Nobody said this was going to be easy. Don't blame yourself, sensei." Mikey almost pleaded.

"Just promise me you'll stay this strong. Don't give in to weaknesses like your other brothers have. Please." Mikey starred into his father's eyes and almost didn't recognize them. They were so clouded with pain and now they were begging to him. "I promise." Mikey nodded to him.

-  
Raph sat on the floor of his bedroom with his head leaned back against the wall, the neck of his bottle tight in his grip. His vision smeared with the darkness of the room, making his head ache and his eyes water. He sighed heavily as he let his eyes drift closed before a heavy pounding from the other side of his door brought him out of his daze. He tried to ignore it in hopes that the person on the other side would get the message but instead the knocking continued, making his head pound with it.

"Go away!" His words slurred to them, but the knocking continued anyway. His vision was now warping with the sound and it made his head pain unbearable. He ran his hands along his face in an attempt to sooth the aching but the pounding was getting louder and faster. With an aggravated sigh, Raph pushed himself on to his weak legs.

"Alright! Alright!" his voice was harsh and demanding as he dragged his feet to the door, clinging to every object in his path to keep himself from falling. "I said go away!" Swinging open the door, Raph's heart stopped in his chest. Standing in front of him was a body that resembled closely to Donnie with its head bowed to his chest. Its skin was a sickly pale shade, making the dark veins under its layer visible. The three slash wounds across its chest were opened and active, running blood down both its legs and starting a puddle at its feet. Raph's fingers dug into the side of his door as his breath quickened, his eyes locked on it.

"No! No- You're dead! You're not real!" Raph gasped shaking his head as he backed away. As he stepped further into his room, the body before him began to slide its foot in front of him, a trail of blood leading from the puddle it was standing in as it trudged toward him.

"No! Stop it, Donnie! Why can't you just leave me ALONE!" Raph shouted at it as he kept a tight grip around himself. The body stopped in the doorway, keeping its head down.

"Please. Please, Donnie." Raph's voice was small and close to a sob.

Its head slowly lifted having two black spheres stare in the Raph's eyes. He opened his mouth to allow the scarlet liquid run down his bottom lip as he hissed at Raph.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU SAVE ME?"

 

Raph shot up from his bed, grasping onto as much air as he could suck into his lungs. He clasped his hands to his face as his body trembled uncontrollably to his shaken state.

"It was just a dream, Raph." He mumbled to himself. "It was just a stupid dream."

When he got his breathing back down to a normal rate he pulled the covers off his body and planted his feet on the ground, knocking over glass bottles that sat on his night stand in the process.

His room was dark with the lingering stench of alcohol that matched the taste of his mouth. Glass bottles laid strewed all over the floor and onto various other flat surfaces. He doesn't remember how the piles started, but I guess that means they're serving their purpose.

To forget, that's all Raph wants.

But, no amount of alcohol could make Raph ignore the growing pain of hunger that consumed his stomach. Getting out of his bed, he walked over to the door, stopping his hand from turning the knob.

"It was just a fucking dream, Raph." He muttered through his gritted teeth. He swung open the door and was faced with an empty hallway. Letting out his held breath he stepped outside his bedroom, a change of the air catching him by surprise.

The light coming from the kitchen sent a wave of anxiety through Raph as he began to contemplate whether or not eating was that important, but the loud growling noise form his torso made up his mind. He stopped in the doorway at the sight of his brothers in the room. Mikey sat on one of the stools, hunched over the table with his Tphone in his hand. Leo, on the other hand, was standing against the counter between the sink and the fridge, two places Raph needed to get to. Taking in a deep breath, Raph stepped into the light, instantly causing the heads to turn in the room. He let their eyes follow him as he walked across the kitchen to open the door to the fridge. The cold air felt nice against his burning skin as he reached in to retrieve an apple, wanting nothing more than to crawl in and shut the door, at least then he'd be cooled down and away from their judgment filled eyes.

Raph walked past, Leo, avoiding any eye contact directed his way. He leaned forward as he opened the hanging cupboard to retrieve a cup. Out of the corner of his eyes he could make out Leo walking away from his settled spot to lean against the table Mikey was sitting at instead, directly behind him.

"Well, look who decided to finally get out of bed." Leo finally said. Raph tried to make it look as if he was ignoring him, but Leo's taunt cut deep in him. His trembling hands lost grasp to the cup he was taking from the shelf and it bounced off the counter, creating a loud knocking sound against the surface. Raph could feel their eyes burning into him as he bent down to retrieve the cup. As he let the water from the sink pour into the mug he couldn't shake the feeling of everyone starring at him. His body temperature increased as his trembling hands became more and more noticeable. The room was silent, but their thoughts were screaming to him.

"You pathetic, creature"

"You disgust us."

"This is all your fault."

"Why is Donnie dead, but you're still alive?"

"Why couldn't it have been you?"

"SHUT UP!" Raph screamed at them, breaking the silence. Mikey was taken back by his outburst, but Leo remained starring at him with disgust in his eyes. Raph shut off the water and grabbed the apple before darting back to his room, closing the door behind him. He leaned against its surface as he steadied out his breathing. He could hear the faint sounds of Mikey and Leo yelling at each other, which made his stomach twist even more. Reaching for the Tphone sitting on his night stand he pressed play on the only video that mattered on that device. Sinking down to sit on the floor, he listened to the recorded voice of his brother reciting notes from an old invention that he was working on at the time.

Raph awoke suddenly to the sound of an object harshly hitting the ground from outside his door. He doesn't quiet remember when he dosed off, but the Tphone's screen was black and his neck didn't ache as bad as he thought it would from having it rested on his own shoulder. The loud noise caused him curiosity so he stood up from his spot and quietly opened his bedroom door to peak outside. He couldn't see much of the lair from his far end of the hallway, but what he could see was Mikey picking up a knocked over desk chair. The desk chair from Donnie's lab.

A wave of aggression washed over him as he stomped out of his room and to the end of the hallway. The floor of the pit was covered with boxes containing items from Donnie's lab, as well as his desk chair and tool boxes.

"What's going on?" Raph asked Mikey as he stepped out of the lab, carrying out another filled box. "What are you doing?"

"What does it like I'm doing?" Mikey asked setting the box down with the others. "It looks like you're taking things that don't belong to you." He toke a step forward.

"Raph, I don't want to deal with you right now. This is hard enough as it is." Mikey sighed, but Raph showed no sympathy. "You shouldn't be touching that stuff. That's not yours!" He raised his voice. "Why are taking his stuff out?"

"Raph, calm down, its ok-"

"No it's not ok! Not until you tell me what you plan to do with that stuff." Raph had a vague idea on what was going on but he didn't want to believe it. Mikey let out a sigh as he averted eye contact with Raph.

"We're cleaning out the lab." Mikey finally answered. "There are a lot of chemicals and mutagen containers in there that aren't any use to us and are dangerous to just keep sitting there so Sensei asked if I could remove them."

"No, you're just trying to take away the last thing we have of him!"

"That's not true, Raph." Mikey objected. "You know I wouldn't do that. But, everyone else thinks that maybe cleaning out that room would do us all good, may even be safer."

"Everyone else? So Leo's in on this too." Raph crossed his arms. "So what if Leo agrees, dude? This bickering between you two needs to cool down before it ruins us all." Mikey turned towards the lab, another empty box in his hand.

Raph looked to the pile of full boxes before picking up a stack of them in his arms. Stomping past Mikey, Raph planted the boxes on the floor of the lab before blocking the door way with his arms crossed.

"Raph, stop it! You're acting like a child."

"I don't care. You're not taking anything out of this room!" Raph protested.

"That's not your choice to make! We all had a talk and agreed that this was what we were doing! Maybe if you didn't keep yourself locked away all the time, you would've had a say in it!" Raph averted his eyes from his little brother, letting them wander over his shoulder and into Donnie's lab. Catching sight of a silver pad lock that was hanging left opened on the handles of a metal cabinet sparked an idea. Stomping ahead, Raph snatched the lock and stood in the pit as he slammed both doors shut. He slid the metal arch between the handles on the doors before clicking the lock shut.

"There! Now no one can touch Donnie's stuff!" Raph huffed as he walked past him.

"Raph, you're being ridiculous!" Mikey spat.  
"No, you're being ridiculous! This is Donnie's room! No one has any right to be in there but Donnie!" he roared.

"Well, Donnie's not here!" Mikey responded. Raph glared at Mikey before shoving into him, letting Mikey fall to the floor. Mikey jumped back to his feet and began pounding on Raph.

"THAT"S ENOUGH!" Leo darted into the room, grabbing them both by the top of their shells and pushing them apart from each other. "Get ahold of yourselves! Both of you!"

"Who are you tell us what to do?" Raph shoved Leo's arm away. "You're not our fearless leader anymore!"

"But I am still the oldest and it's my job to keep you from killing one another." Leo replied.

"Oh and how great of job you've been doing! If it wasn't for you we wouldn't even be in this mess. What ever happened to turtles first, Leonardo? You just had to go back for Karai, didn't you? Have you ever thought that maybe if for once you toke your head out of your ass Donnie might still be here!" Raph's words struck a nerve in Leo as he narrowed his gaze.

"Yes, Raph I did fuck up that night but you can't pin this all on me! Your stubbornness has gotten us all in danger numerous times!" Leo started.

"Guys, please. Don't…"

"SHUT UP, MIKEY!" Both Raph and Leo shouted at Mikey, having him back down.

"Maybe I did make a bad choice but you were the one who was with him the whole time. I was in no position to stop him but you were. So don't put the blame on everyone else when you have just the same amount of guilt on your shoulders. Why didn't you save him?" Raph's eyes went wide as he toke a step back away from Leo.

"Argh! I hate you! I hate all of you!" Raph screamed before running towards the bedrooms. The rage drained from Leo's face as Raph dashed past him. "Raph!" Leo call but he was already out of the room. He glanced down at Mikey who sat with his back to him and his face buried in his knees.

Raph slammed the door to his room behind him as he began pacing his room. His hand dragged down his face as his breath quickened. His heart was racing and it was getting harder for him to breath and his breaths grew quicker and less steady. Raph stopped in front the mirror in his room, starring at his reflection. His eyes were blood shot form lack of sleep and from the hot tears streaming down his face. The dark circles around his eyes matched the bruises up his arms and legs above the cuts from broken class.  
He felt disgusting looking at himself.

He felt sick.

Like a reflex, he raised his arm and sent his fist through the image of his face, shattering the glass around his knuckles and sending sharp edges into his skin. He retracted his fist and grasped on to it with his other hand as the blood drained out and seeped between his fingers. At the sight, Raph dropped to his knee, clenching his teeth shut. Lowering his head to his clenched hands, he began to softly weep.


	9. Recovery Road

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With Casey's help, Raph faces his growing problem and helps calm his PTSD

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Pretty sure this is the longest chapter I've written for this story. It also has a happy ending which is always great considering this story isn't filled with too many of those

Casey galloped down the steps past the turnstiles, glancing around for any sign of life in the quiet lair. He hadn't checked on the turtles for a while but based on Mkey's last progress report it didn't sound like things were getting better. Noticing the light along the back wall coming from the kitchen, Casey went to investigate. Mikey sat on one of the stools with his head rested against his arm which was laid on the table. He wasn't even sure if he was awake due to how still he was sitting, especially when he walked in.

"Hey, Mikey. How are you doing?" He asked with his hands deep in his pockets.

"Could be better." Mikey mumbled, not lifting his head from the table. "Well, I'm sure things will get there eventually." Casey added. "Where's everyone else?"

"Sensei's still asleep, Leo's in the dojo doing who knows what and Raph… he's in his room."

"Still acting the same as last time?" Casey asked with worry. "It's a whole lot worse than last time. He's gone crazy and I mean he's literally insane." Mikey answered. "So, you've been all by yourself again?" Casey asked his anger boiling deep in his chest. Mikey only nodded his head. "I'm going to go talk to him." Casey stomped out of the room.

"Good luck."

Casey stomped up to Raph's door and began hitting against its surface. "Raph, I know you're in there. Open the door or I will." Casey threatened when he received no response. After a few silent seconds Casey kicked open the door. When he entered the room, he barely had time to react before Raph came charging at him with a glass shard in his hands.

"Whoa, dude!" Casey ducked from his swing before hitting his arm, causing the shard to fly from his grip. "What the hell, Raph?"

"I-I didn't know it was you, man. I thought you were him… I… I thought…." Raph trailed off as he rubbed his hand, showing signs that he was clearly out of breath and delusional.

"God it smells in here." Casey scrunched up his face. "How long have you kept yourself locked in here?" Raph shrugged his shoulders, not looking up at him. "Well that's changing right now." Casey threatened before walking out of the room, returning with a black garbage bag that he began to shake open.

"Hey! Don't touch my stuff!" Raph growled standing up. "No! You don't get a say in this. You're getting over this whether you like it or not." Casey demanded. "And we're starting by getting rid of these." Casey held up a bottle before slamming it into the trash bag. "I lost my dad to this demon, I'm not losing you too."

As Casey went to pick up another bottle Raph grabbed his arm and pushed him away. "I don't need your help, Casey!" "Obviously you do. Look at this place, it's a freaking mess. And look at yourself! All cut up and bruised and everything reeks so it's obvious you haven't been taking care of yourself! Everyone else has given up on you, but I'm not. Not when I know you're better than this." He asserted before continuing to pick up the bottle.

"I said don't touch that!" Raph tackled Casey causing the two to roll over top of each other out the door and into the hallway. Raph struggled to keep Casey down but in his weaken state Casey gained the upper hand and pinned him to the ground. With Raph at a disadvantage Casey ran up and shut the door to Raph's bedroom and stood in front of the door.

"Casey move out of the way!" Raph demanded as he brought himself to his feet.

"I'm not going to let you waste your life away locked in that room. There are still people that need you and if you keep shoving them away then one day you'll really be alone."

"You don't understand, Casey!" Raph turned his back to him, running his hands down the back of his head and to his neck.

"Then help me understand! Tell me what I can do to help you out!" Casey asked.

"Erase my memory!" Raph admitted.

"What are you talking about, man?"

"I just want to forget." Raph muttered inside his hands pressed against his face. "I want to forget his face; I want to forget his scream; I just want to forget about Donnie." Raph pressed against the wall, sliding down to meet with the flour. Casey's face soften as he approached his broken friends.

"Do you have any idea what it's like? To have someone die in your arms and you're powerless to do anything to save them?" Raph asked looking at his hands outstretched in front of him. "Every time I blink I can still see his blood soaked on my arms. I just want to forget."

"And you honestly think this is the only way you can?" Casey asked with more softly. Raph let out a defeated sigh as he leaned his head back. "It was worth a shot." Raph looked at him causing a small smile to creep on to both of their faces.

"But it's not working is it?" Casey asked.

"No. No it's not." Raph lowered his head. "So what do I do now?"

"Now you're going to get over this." Casey stood up, walking over to the small storage area next to the bathroom door that held the towels. "But, first, you're going to take a shower because I cannot stand this close for more than a minute without my eyes burning." Casey implied as he threw him a towel. He led Raph into the lair's makeshift bathroom and turned on the water to the shower. "I'm giving you thirty minutes so you better be clean by that time. If not I will come in here and clean you myself if I have to. I'll be waiting outside the door." Casey instructed before leaving Raph alone. Raph never realized how low his body temperature was until the hot water hit against his icy skin. The wounds along his body became irritated as water seeped into them but he hardly cared at that moment. He could feel the layer of grim and slime melt off of him and down the drain just making everything better.

Casey sat on the floor outside the bathroom with his back against the door, listening to the water run from the shower inside. Mikey came trudging out of the dojo and caught eye sight with him. "Who's in the bathroom?" he asked.

"Raph. I'm making him take a shower and then he's going to eat something." Casey responded.

"Wow, he's actually listening to someone." Mikey rolled his eyes.

"It wasn't easy, believe me." Casey admitted as Mikey sat in front of him, starring past him at the bathroom door.

"I really don't want to lose him too."

"You're not, Mikey. Not if I have a say in it." Casey assured him.

"And how are you going to fix him? How are you going to fix this?" Mikey asked him. "He's been a lost cause since this disaster started and even if you do manage to get through to him, how do you know he won't relapse?"

"You just have to have faith in him, Mikey. You guys have all been through a lot. I mean he was there when Donnie died and that can have a major impact on someone's psychological balance. We just need to be patient."

"And what about me?" Mikey shot his gaze to him. "I was there too. I saw what he saw- I've lost my arm during all this for god's sake! Why is everyone falling apart and leaving me behind?"

"Maybe." Casey searched for the right words to say as Mikey's eyes sank into him. "Maybe it's just because you're stronger than all of us. You always have been without anyone acknowledging it. Like the time you figured out April's mom was actually a giant Kraang monster, or the time you single-handedly escaped the belly of that shredder mutant, and I've heard stories of you saving everyone from a giant wasp; that's pretty cool."

"Yeah, I guess so." Mikey rested his chin on his fist. "But mutant mom's and large bugs are the least of our worries now. We're facing world domination and our team is dropping like flies and I don't know how much stronger I can last." The sudden sound of the water stopping from the other side of the door drew their attention. "Just try to stay strong a little bit longer. Things will turn around soon, you'll see." Casey squeezed his shoulder before standing up to wait for Raph at the bathroom door. "I hope you're right." Mikey stated before walking towards the bedrooms.

"How you holding up, Raph?" Casey knocked on the door. The silence on the other end sent a wave of anxiety through him. "Raph, answer me." Casey knocked again. When there was no response Casey went for the door knob. "Please don't be armed with glass again." He pleaded to himself before opening the door. The room was clouded with the steam from the shower but it didn't take long to find the green blur sitting in the corner of the room.

"Raph, what are you doing, buddy?" Casey asked as he looked down on him.

"I've been such an idiot, lately." Raph responded.

"C'mon man-"

"No, I've screwed up everything. Mikey has been all by himself and I've been literally pushing him away. I've ruined everything."

"You haven't ruined everything, man, you're just in a ditch right now." Casey tried to comfort him.

"No, this is a mess. Mikey's never going to forgive me for this. And then what? I'll just be that worthless older sibling that failed both of his little brothers."

Casey let out a sigh before he knelt in front of him. "I don't think you've lost Mikey yet. I think he's just disappointed, and hurt, and alone, but you can fix this- only if you're willing to fix it."

Raph nodded his head as he met Casey's eyes. "I want to fix this."

\---

It had been months since Raph embraced the cool breeze of fresh air. The lair had been on locked down since their last stand off with the Foot Clan and he had yet to see the moon or the stars since. When they had finally emerged to the surface, Raph toke in as deep of a breath as his lungs could withstand letting the cool air decrease his hot body temperature from being cooped up in a small space for so long.

"This way, Raph." Casey tilted his head in one direction before leading him towards it. They toke passages through alley ways to avoid the empty streets because they were a dead giveaway and they'd be easy targets if they were spotted in the open like that. Helicopters roared overhead as Casey darted toward the wired fence that divided the city from the outside park. Jumping over it, Casey continued to lead him on this mystery path. Running under the tree tops, it didn't take Raph long to realize where they were heading.

"No. I don't want to be here." Raph came to a stop. "Raph you're never going to be able to fix this unless you address the problem first." Casey turn to face him.

"Can't we address the problem somewhere else?" Raph asked. "No this needs to be done. There's something holding you back from moving on and it's time you got rid of it." Casey toke a hand out from his jacket pocket to put it on Raph's shoulder. "You're not going to be able to get past this if you keep blaming yourself."

"But it is my fault." Raph replied sternly. "No it's not, Raph. The only one responsible for the blade going through Donnie's chest is the guy who put it there and that wasn't you." Casey protested.

"But I can't do this." Raph exhaled as he avoided eye contact with Casey. "Yes you can, man." Casey gave his shoulder a squeeze before retreating his hand back to his pocket.

"Hey, remember why you're doing this." Casey reminded him before continuing in his general direction. With chest tighten sigh, Raph continued to follow him. He began to slow his pace when Casey stopped in front of an object nestled in the ground. Raph walked in a small circle as he tried to keep himself together. He avoided eye contact as Casey stepped out of line of vision for Raph to notice.

"I know you have all this guilt and anger built inside of you, Raph. The only way you're going to be able to get Mikey to forgive you, is if you forgive yourself first." With a tight closed squeeze of his eyes Raph dropped to his knees beside where Casey was standing.

"I'll be over here when you're done." Raph listened to the sound of Casey's footsteps get quieter behind him.

When Raph opened his eyes he was faced with the hard engraving of his brother's name.

"H-Hey, Donnie." Raph's voice cracked. He looked around at his surroundings as he tried to search for the words to say. The new spring air had begun growing leaves on to the braches of the surrounding trees, but not all of them were in bloom due to the lack of sunshine beneath the clouds of smoke overhead. A bunch of Irises laid in front of his knees were at their last petal and the patch of dirt under him was almost completely covered with freshly grown grass.

"I've really made a mess of things this time, huh?" Raph sighed as he focused back on the tombstone. "Leo's given up on me, Mikey hates me, and Splinter's just disappointed. Things have just gone really downhill after you left. I don't know, maybe it all is because of me. I was so desperate to get those images out of my head that I just forgot about everyone else." Raph toke a moment to steady his breathing again before continuing.

"I'm sorry, Donnie. I'm so sorry for everything. I'm sorry you had to go out the way you did. If there was anything I could do to fix it I would, but I'm not like you. I don't fix things, you do. And now I've wrecked everything and there's no one here to fix it." Raph rubbed his eyes.

"I know it's not my fault, but who else am I supposed to blame? I'm your older brother, it's my job to protect you and I didn't. I know if you were here now you'd tell me I should stop blaming myself… and then probably slap some sense into me by telling me how ridiculous I've been acting. I just miss you so much Donnie." He sighed with defeat. "Everything's gone and it's not going get better if I just sit on my ass and do nothing." Raph realized. "I have to do something. I have to be the one to fix this, but I can't unless I finally let go." Raph looked up at the tombstone. "And I think I'm finally ready to let go." Raph stood back on his feet, laying his hand on top of the tombstone. A small smile crept on to his face as he felt a heavy burden fall from his shoulders.

"Goodbye, Donatello." Raph dropped his hand back to his side. He gave the tombstone one last glance before turning to meet back with Casey.

Casey sat against a tree a couple feet from where he left Raph when he heard footsteps stop beside him.

"Better?" Casey asked looking up at him.

"Better."

"I'm proud of you, man." Casey stood up to swing his arm behind Raph's shoulder as they headed back for the lair. "We're making progress."

"What's next?" Raph asked.

\---

"Next, we're going to clean your room." Casey held up a garbage bag.  
"What?"  
"You heard me, we're cleaning this room, starting with you throwing all these bottles away." Casey instructed. "Not a single one will be left."

Raph kept his hands in tight fists at his side as he watched Casey drop the first couple of bottles into the black bag. Giving the bag a shake, Casey raised a brow at him. "Your turn."

Raph glanced at the garbage bag hanging from Casey's hands before eyeing the pile of bottles in his room. Raph picked up the bottle from the top of the pile closest to him, holding it in his hand as he glanced over it. Casey raised an eyebrow in his direction. This needed to be done. He needed to get over this. He needed to do this for Mikey.

For Donnie.

A smile of encouragement lit up Casey's face as Raph let the container hit the bottom of the bag. The two spent the rest of the afternoon clearing away Raph's addiction before it was out of sight. Once they were finished, the two sat on Raph's bed, admiring their work.

"Now, I think somebody deserves an apology." Casey turned his head to look at him.

"I can't face him." Raph starred ahead

"You have to, Raph. It's the only thing you can do now to get him to forgive you."

"If he forgives me."

"Don't worry. He'll forgive you because Mikey cares about you, just like you care about him."

Raph's heart was ready to burst out of his chest by the time he approached the doorway to the kitchen. His gaze locked on to Mikey who stood at the other side of the room cleaning dishes in the sink. Raph reached over and grabbed his arm to stop the shaking feeling at his side, his fingers gently brushing over his scars. He stopped at the other side of the table and tried to control his breathing again. Mikey kept his back turned from him, keeping the water running along the silver pot. With a deep intake of breath, Raph spoke first.

"H-Hey…" his voice soft and small, a tone unfamiliar to Mikey coming out of Raph's mouth.

"Hey…" Mikey responded without moving his position. "So, um… how's your arm?" Raph asked trying to lighten to atmosphere with conversation.

"Gone." Mikey answered bluntly. "Oh, right." Raph released his grip from his arm and began glancing around the kitchen in search of a new topic to start off with.

"I can see you've started cooking again! That's cool. I smelt waffles the other day and they did smell really good." "They were really good, Sensei had breakfast with me that day. I would've offered you some but..." Mikey extended the last word before taking a short pause. "I didn't think you wanted any."

"Yeah, um…about that…" Raph steady his breathing again before continuing. "Listen, I'm..." Raph lowered his head as he tighten his fists, trying to muster the courage to speak.

"I'm really sorry about these last couple of months, after what had happen I just lost it. I wasn't myself, I was having nightmares, I was seeing things that weren't there, images of what happened kept replaying in mind over and over again and I couldn't take it anymore. What started out as one to just relief the stress turned into two and then three and then I was drinking cases a day, doing everything I could to get my mind off of this nightmare- I had a problem! And then I lost control, and I abandoned you for my own selfish reasons and I'm sorry, Mikey. We all lost Donnie, which means none of us should've gone through this alone and I'm such a dumbass for realizing this three months later after you've already gone through the trauma. Just proves you really are the stronger than me.

Now, I'm not asking you to forgive me but I at least want you to know how sorry I am and how much I regret everything I ever did or said to you. Casey helped me get through out of that and I'm never going back, I swear. I promise to look after you from now on and take care of you when you need it and make up for all that time we lost." Raph began choking back tears as Mikey continued to stare coldly into the sink.

"Because, you're the only little brother I have left now. And as your older brother it's my job…. It's my job to look after you. I'm not failing again. All this drinking was to try and keep me from remembering what happened that night… what I saw, but… none of that's worth it if it means I don't remember you." Raph swallowed the lump in his throat before looking up at his brother's back. Mikey bit down on his lower lip as a single tear escaped down his cheek. "Thanks for listening, at least. If you need anything at all, please let me know." As Raph turned to leave the sound of one of the chairs falling over stopped him in his tracks. Mikey threw his arm around his older brother, burying his face in his shoulder. Raph turned to his little brother and wrapped his arms around him himself. "I forgive you, raphie." Mikey replied with his face still buried. "Thank you." Raph's voice shook. "Thank you, Thank you." The two remained in embrace in the kitchen, letting any tears flow from their eyes because they both needed a shoulder to cry on.

Raph watched Casey grab his jacket from the couch as he walked towards the turnstiles from the steps towards the bedrooms.

"Finally going home I see." Raph stated crossing his arms in front of his chest. "As much fun as it is staying here I still have to help April out on that project we're working on. After abandoning her for a couple days the least I can do is show up today." Casey replied sliding his jacket on.

"Thanks for helping me out, man it really means a lot." Raph thanked him. "Don't mention it, bro. I had to deal with this alone when my mom died and it wasn't fair. I couldn't sit back and let it happen to someone else. Plus, I know you would've done the same for me if I was in your shoes. But, I never wanna see you like that again, ok?" Casey joked as he slapped his hand against Raph's shoulder. "No matter what happens, or who dies you can't relapse. They'll need you and you're gonna have to be strong for them, got it?" Casey asked.

"Got it." Raph mumbled as he stared down at the tombstone with his best friend's name carved into it. The slab of stone was located at the cemetery in New York City instead of in the forest like his brother. He was buried next to his mother, it was what he wanted. Who would've known that out of all the stupid things Casey had done in his life he would've gone down in a helicopter. Shot down by the Foot and crashed into a building just off the edge of the city. It toke days to find him, most believed he must've been captured since his radio was still functional but on one night patrol several days later someone reported seeing one of the resistance's helicopter's and sure enough inside was Casey's deteriorating corpse.

Raph kept his arms tight against him as he snuggled his face deeper into his thick jacket. The winds of December blew hard against his face, causing the moistness of his eyes to dry up.  
"Raph, we're heading out. You coming or what?" Mikey voice demanded form behind him. "Raph? Raph!" His voice grew louder.

"Raph!" Mikey shook his shoulder, snapping him out of his daze. "What?" Raph asked as he shook his head. "You ok? You checked out there for a minute." Mikey joked. "Oh, yeah I was just thinking of something- I uh…I saw Leo the other day." Raph spoke up to change the subject. "I almost didn't recognize him. He's so… different."

"What kind of different?" Mikey asked.

"He must've gotten into a fight. A nasty one. Noticeable scars all over his body, burnt marks up his legs and his sight is totally gone along with my respect. He's not the man we used to trust all those years ago. He's not our fearless leader anymore." Raph explained.

"I used to think out of all of us Leo would be the one to hold on. I guess I was wrong."

"We were both wrong." Raph sighed.

"So how long are you staying here?" Mikey asked, changing the topic. "For as long as I'm needed." Raph answered with a sigh. "And then what?" Mikey pressed on.

"And then… I don't know. Head west I guess. There's nothing tying me down here so I might as well try to escape as much of this as I can." Raph shrugged. Giving Mikey's eyes a glance he could tell they were full of grief and emptiness. Who knew what all he had been through? And if it toke him 20 years to see him again when would be the next time? Never?

"You could come with my. If you want." He asked casing Mikey's widen in their stare. "We could both just get out of the hellscape and just run away and never have to look back."

"That sounds awesome… but I can't." Both of their faces fell at the same time. "No matter how bad it gets here I could never leave this place for good. It's all I've ever known. Maybe you can just give up everything and walk away, and more power to you, but I can't. Even if I tried." Mikey sighed.

"I understand." Raph nodded. "You always did seem to embrace this place more than the rest of us."

"What can I say? I was born to be a New Yorker." Mikey flashed a small smile that made his cheeks hurt from the long forgotten feeling. Mikey wished the two of them could remain sitting there watching the sunset disappear but he look on Raph's face screamed that he unwillingly had somewhere else he needed to be.

"Well, it was really great to see you again, Raph." Mikey sighed as he stood up, followed by Raph mimicking his move. "It's going to be getting dark soon and it's not safe to remain on the rooftops at that time."

"Right." Raph agreed sticking his hands in his pocket.

"Sorry for thinking you were an attacker and shooting at you… and spitting in your eye." Raph replied with a soft laugh.

Without a second thought to stop him, Mikey threw himself forward, wrapping his arm around Raph. Raph responded by doing the same, letting them stand there in silence for a moment.

"Good luck, bro." Mikey stepped back.

"You too, Mikey." Raph replied before turning to walk away. Mikey walked off the opposite direction to jump into the alley, but not before Raph gave one last look back at him until he disappeared.


	10. Resistance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikey runs into a group of soldiers who lead him to a long lost friend

The three soldiers stayed crouched in their positions, all eyes on their target. The turtle made little effort to keep himself hidden from any attacker, but that didn't make their job any easier. Their general said he was armed and dangerous and looks weren't going to deceive them. They studied his moves for a while, watching as he twirled his nunchaku in his hand and how his mouthed silently moved to the sound of music in his head as he strolled across the rooftop carefree. When they obtained the information they needed they made their move.

Mikey drifted down his path as the cool summer breeze blew through the air, taking in the smell of the atmosphere after it rains. His trained senses were ringing at the presences of someone watching him from the shadows but he remained casual, awaiting to find out what their motive was.

After all, nothing exciting really happens to him anymore so why not let this moment last?

He heard the sound of a blade being unsheathed from its holster from behind him and it sent a chill down his spine. Spinning on his heels, his nunchaku made contact with flesh as the sword was tossed from the owner's hand. The attacker grabbed his arm and landed a kick to his plastron, causing him to stumble back. The two other soldiers emerged from their hiding spot to surround him.

"Well, it looks like you've got me pinned." Mikey held up his arm in defense, a scoff intertwining its' way through the sentence. His baby blue eye's met with each of his attackers as he studied them carefully. Two of the soldiers seems to be newly trained. Not quite rookies, but not as much experience as the third based on their stance. Their leader, he predicted the third to be, was standing straight with a sword lowered but in a tight grip in their right hand. His face was completely covered as were the rest of them but his eyes were narrowed at his unlike the other two's wide eyed and at his body. Noticing this difference, he toke the end of his kusarigama chain and spun backwards letting the chain wrap around one of the two soldiers' sword. Giving it a pull, the soldier was pulled forward to meet Mikey's knee with his stomach. Kicking the soldier back he quickly ducked from the other soldier's swinging sword before swiping his feet out from under him. With the two amateurs on the ground, Mikey focused his senses on the leader who stood and watched his two soldiers get their asses handed to them.

"So I'm guessing you're going to be more of a challenge, huh?" Mikey raised a brow as he pulled out his other nunchuck from its holster on his belt. The soldier raised his sword as he lowered his stance. The two lunged toward each other, both with weapons in hand.

Mikey spun his nunchuck as he ducked from each of the soldier's swings. He did a wheel kick the landed a blow on Mikey's shoulder as a distraction before coming back around with the swing of his sword. Mikey held up the chain of his nunchuck to deflect the blade but the sword cut straight through it, causing Mikey to fall backward to avoid it strike. The tip of the soldier's sword hit the concrete next to Mikey's head before he rolled out of the way of his next strike. He pushed himself into a crouching position to watch his attacker as he lifted his sword again to turn towards him. Mikey used his fingers to pull out the small blade hidden in the torn cloth wrapped around his palm and up his arms and ran towards his opponent. He began deflecting the soldier's blade causing them to parry. The soldier swung hard which made the blade fly from Mikey's grip. Noticing this opening he raised the sword above his head and swung down, but with a quick turn the end made contact with Mikey's shell. Mikey swung his foot around with his body, it made contact with the soldier's head, causing him to lose his balance. Taking this opportunity, he continued to land blows on his opponent. The soldier tried to find an opening by swinging his sword in a side slice but Mikey deflected it his metal elbow pads and shoved him against the wall with his foot. Grabbing his kurasami chain from around the first soldier's sword and held the blade at the end towards the soldier's throat. The soldier's solid green eyes starred coldly at his.

"So, you are as good as they say." The solider remarked out of breath.

"What's your deal, dude?" Mikey asked. The soldier sheathed their weapon before taking off the hood on its head, pulling out the purple highlighted black hair that was tucked in the back of the jacket to let it fall on the shoulders. Her green eyes gazed up at him under raised eye brows.

"Dudette…?"

"We come with a message, a proposal sort to say." She stated.

"Forget it, I thought I already made my message clear that I want nothing to do with the Foot." Mikey sneered. "Oh, believe me, we have no association with the Foot. In fact the organization we come from is the exact opposite."

"I'm listening."

"We're soldiers of an elite resistance team whose sole objective is to dethrone The Shredder. I'm one of the commanders, Commander Angel." She gave a slight bow to him. "We have an army that is twice the size of New York City's original population and is constantly growing like Shredder's empire. We have bases set up throughout the city and pretty soon the country and even spies in the Foot Clan's army which all connect to our secret HQ built by our own general here in the city. In fact I believe you know our General."

"Who is he?"

"They wish to be anonymous until your arrival. That is if you are willing to join."

Mikey crossed his arms, giving her and her team a look over. They each wore black outfits with matching back packs and gun holsters attached to them. There was no blood red symbol of the Foot clan located anywhere on them, nor were they carrying Foot clan approved weapons. His eyes fell upon their commander. Her dark lips were pursed with her hands rested on her hips, watching him as she awaited his answer.

Was he really willing to get mixed into all of this again? He hadn't become part of a team since his brothers split up and had settled that it was better that way. That way there was no to worry about, no one to miss, and no one to leave you. But was that really what he wanted? To spend the rest of his life alone and let Shredder continue to mock him over their failure all those years ago? Or maybe he should take a page out of Raph's book and do something about it.

"Where did you say your HQ was again?"

\-----

Angel and her team marched before Mikey under the darkened treetops of the forest. They had been traveling for at least 20 minutes outside the city and Mikey's suspicion was at an all-time high the further they went.

"So how much longer till we get there?" He asked aloud.

"It shouldn't be much longer. We had to make sure our HQ was located at the most secluded area but also close enough to spy on the Shredder's army." Angel responded. The three soldier halted in front of a wall of bushes. The two soldiers pushed back some of the brush for him and Angel to walk through. Standing before them was an old shack in shambles. The doors and windows were busted off and the paint on the walls was crippling away. The place looked like the perfect place to shoot a horror movie.

"I know you said you're sole objective was taking down the Shredder, but you guys couldn't at least paint the place?" Mikey asked. "It's nicer on the inside." Angel remarked. Mikey continued to follow them inside the shack where it laid empty. Mikey looked around for any sign that would make him not want to run away, but the only thing in sight was the wooden boarded walls.

"Very funny, guys." Mikey tapped his fingers against his thigh as he bit his lower lip.

Angel walked ahead towards the back wall and hit her fist against a specific place on a selected board. The middle of the board split in half and separated, revealing a blue lighted touch screen. Standing in front of it, a beam of light brushed over Angel's face before the entire wall lifted up like a garage door. In its place was a solid metal wall with a glass elevator in the middle.

"This way, Michelangelo." Angel instructed as Mikey stood slapped jaw in awe. Stepping inside, Angel put her hand against another touch screen, sealing the door shut and sending them plummeting down. Mikey watched the wall in front of him move upwards in a rapid speed before it was replaced with a bird's eyes view of the headquarters. The large room expanded far beyond his view and was crawling with people dressed like Angel. The walls, ceiling and floors were constructed with steel walls. A large rectangular table sat in the middle of the front half of the room scattered with papers and maps and jumbo screen hung on the wall beside it with four smaller screens stacked on the left and right side of it.

"Welcome to our central headquarters." Angel announced as she stepped out of elevator.

"This place is awesome- how is this here?" Mikey asked as toke in as much of the room as he could. "The HQ was built by our general and partner as a safe haven for those against the Shredder. This area stretches under the entire city and constructed with titanium walls to protect us from any damage done to the surface as well as updated with all the recent technology from Shredder's lair itself."

"And this was all built by your General?" Mikey asked as he gazed around.

"Of course. Our general is a very intelligent and resourceful leader who has done everything to keep us safe. Speaking of which, here comes the general now." Angel nodded her head to someone behind him.

"Well, aren't you a sight for sore eyes." A familiar voice spoke from behind him. Mikey's eyes went wide as they met with the owner of the voice standing with her hands on her hips a few feet away.

"Welcome to HQ, Mikey." April smiled at him.


	11. Old Timey Reunion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> While getting familiar with the Resistance's headquarters, Angel shows Mikey what it's like to be a resistance soldier.

"April?" Mikey asked in amazement. "You're the general? You built this place?"

"That's right, with some help of course." April explained. "Casey and I began building this place after Shredder first used the Trans dimensional portal back before the city was taken over. Taking in some of your methods, the HQ is built entirely underground through a tunnel system that leads through under New York City. The Titanium walls provide protection from explosives as well as any of Shredder's henchmen in detecting that we're down here. It's become a safe haven for humans and mutants everywhere"

Mikey toke in the room, from the sounds of all the people to the sights of monitors and people suited with weapons and weren't trying to kill him. In that one room, Mikey had guessed that there had to be at least 200 people, more people than he's seen all at once in a long time. People were rushing around like they would on the sidewalks at 5 o'clock on a weekday and the rumbling sound of voices bouncing off the walls nearly made his chest burst. Ever since the Shredder toke over, New York city had become quiet and lifeless, but in this new area there was enough life to raise the dead and Mikey craved it. After all, it had been almost 10 years since he last actually felt this kind of atmosphere.

"Would you like a tour?" April asked, pulling him out of his daze.

\----

"Our first room is the cafeteria, which is the second biggest and most used room in the entire HQ." April opened the double doors to reveal a wide room almost the size of the first room with tables and chairs scattered everywhere and a window at the opposite end that led to what appeared to be a kitchen. "In here breakfast, lunch, and dinner are served at their schedule times so if you don't show up within the hour you don't eat. Portions are small due to our limited food supply so apologies in advance if we can't keep up with your rather large appetite." April implied.

"Trust me, my stomach's learned to deal with it over the last few years." Mikey answered earning a soft chuckle from Angel at April's left.

\---

"Second we have our infirmary where the sick and injured stay. Luckily we have plenty of doctors to keep up with the amount of injuries that occur against Shredder's forces and enough technology and medicine to keep the ill well." April informed him as they stood at the entrance to this hospital like atmosphere. It was one large, square, room separated off with curtains that each contained a medical bed. Taking in the smell of alcohol and rubber gloves gave Mikey a shiver as he set his hand on his left shoulder. "Moving on." April led them out.

\---

"This is our laboratory where we build and repair all of our equipment." April opened another set of doors to reveal another rather large room with large equipment lined along the walls and two columns of tables down the center the each belonged to a different scientist. "Scientists from all over the world work in these labs, coming up with new technology and weapons to aid us in defeating the shredder. The scientists here range from chemists to biologists and to physicians."

"And engineers, we mustn't forget engineers."

Mikey spun on his heels in the direction of the familiar voice.

"Well, well, well, Michelangelo." Baxter Stockman stepped in the brighter light, a devilish grin plaster on his face as he kept his hands behind his back. He looked very much like he did before except his hair was whiter tint and he had three new slash marks that ran down his left, blind eye. "How the years have been kind to you."

"Stockman." Mikey growled as he grabbed for his nunchucks.

"No, Michelangelo." April grabbed his wrist. "He's not a threat to us." Mikey jerked himself away from her grasp as he glared in confusion at both of them. "Dr. Stockman is assisting me in a personal project, isn't that right, Stockman?"

"Yes, ofcourse, after Shredder decided he was in no need for me I had to resort to more casual projects. But I guess being trapped down here is better than having one foot in the grave up there." Stockman explained with his mocking smirk.

"Hmh, as you were, Stockman." April gave him a scowl before she continued leading Mikey through.

"Um, hello? Since when did you start trusting goons like Stinkman?" Mikey asked catching up beside her. "As much as a bother Stockman has been to us when we were younger he's actually been quiet useful these days ever since the Shredder kicked him to the curb. I don't completely trust him, but for what it's worth he'll have to do."

"Why did Shredder kick him out?"

"I feel as though that's a story best explained by him." She answered.

\------

The next area was a long narrow hallway decorated with doors evenly spaced apart on each side and labeled with a number.

"These are the barracks where every soldier stays. This area contains the single bedrooms while the ones further down are reserved for families, and at the end of the hallway is my quarters which are off limits to everyone." She instructed as she opened the door to one of the rooms. "And here is where you'll be staying." Mikey stuck his head in to take a look at the room. Inside the walls were painted a seaweed green like the rest of the HQ with one metal framed bed and a metal desk in one corner along with a door that led to a bathroom. The room resembled more of prison cell than a bedroom.

"Every soldier is expected to be up and ready by 6 am for training followed by breakfast and then a meeting to assign their mission for the day-"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, I never really agreed that I was staying." Mikey backed away.

"You're right." April agreed, shutting the door. "We may be getting ahead of ourselves. You probably need time to think it over."

"Yes, thank you." Mikey sighed.

Suddenly, a red light overhead began flashing, followed by a siren that echoed throughout the HQ.

"What's going on?" Mikey asked as soldiers began coming out of the rooms and running towards the control room.

"There's been an attack on the city." April responded following the running soldiers. Once the three reached the control room soldiers were gathering around the large table in the middle. The screens that hung on the walls were flashing red with the big one in the middle showing a map of the city and a red dot blinking near the corner. Angel and Mikey followed behind April as she started giving orders.

"What do we have?" She asked.

"We have a distress signal coming from the sector 48 factory." A solider sitting at the computers beneath the jumbo screens answered. "Shredder has sent soldiers there to punish the workers."

"Angel, take Michelangelo and your team there and stop those soldiers from bringing any more harm to those workers." April ordered.

"Yes, ma'am." Angel saluted. "Come on, Michelangelo. Now you get to see the fun of this job."

Mikey followed Angel to the far end of the large room to enter a garage like area. Inside, arranged in a line, were vehicles from large white vans to carts that resembled a lot like patrol buggies from way back when.

"Pick your ride." Angel gestured. Mikey looked upon his wide selection. "Really? Any of them?" he asked.

"Any of them." Angel assured him, buckling her motorcycle helmet under her chin. It was jet black with a dark purple streak down the middle of it.

Mikey examined the motorcycle she straddled herself on and then the one next to it. The design was a lot like Raphael's stealth bike which only him and Donatello was allowed to touch, low with one wheel in the front and two in the back. Taking this advantage, he planted himself in the one next to her.

"Excellent choice." She remarked hitting the button on the side of the handle bar to make the cement covers latch above her. The garage door before them lifted up to reveal a tunnel and ramp inclined upward. Hitting the cloaking button on the side of his handle bar, his bike was covered too, the inside glowing a purple similar to the stripe on Angel's helmet.

"If you look on the screen to you left it will show you a map with a big, glowing, red dot indicating where we're going. The tiny purple dots on the map are us, and the yellow dot is you." Angel explained, her voice coming out the radio to his right.

"Got it." Mikey responded.

"Alright, let's move out, fellas!" The engines roared around them as Angel toke off I the lead, followed by Mikey and the rest of her team. The tunnel continued in a straight uphill fashion until the ceiling began to lift up, revealing the dark, torn up streets of New York City. Emerging from the tunnel, the group toke to the streets, swerving and weaving around the gaping holes and lifted cement on the abandoned roads. Luckily, the stealth bike was easy to maneuver with one hand due to the double back wheels. They began to approach their target a lot quicker than Mikey anticipated, parking in a nearby ally from the factory.

"Nice job keeping up." Angel his her hand against Mikey's arm.  
"Piece of cake." Mikey smirked.

The group kept against the wall as Angel peeked around the corner of the building. There were several black vans with the Foot's symbol plastered on the sides of it and several soldiers posted at each entrance. "Well, it looks like we can't just walk in, then." Mikey spoke with sarcasm.

"Doors are for chumps. We have a better way of getting in." Angel assured.

\----

Each solider was attached to a rope and holster as they slid down the side of the building. Mikey stayed near Angel, keeping a tight grip on his rope. "Good thing I'm not afraid of heights." Mikey gave a weak laugh as he glanced below him.

"Don't worry. This is all the further we're going." Angel said as she planted her feet against the side of the building. Taking out her specs from the pouch on her belt, she looked through them to reveal the other side of the brick wall. Inside was two figures detected with weapons standing between a group of workers. Each worker was on their knees before another solider who paced in front of them. A single worker stood at the end of the line, facing the pacing soldier with hard look.

The pacing soldier back handed the man standing beside the group, the force knocking him down.

"A strike?!" He spat. "How dare you protest against the system that guarantees that you are clothed, feed, and provided with shelter?"

"You're system is causing our people to starve! Children and woman are exhausted, men are over worked, and everyone's always hungry due to your small portions and all you do is stay enclosed in your palace and call us ungrateful!" The worker protested. "If you want this factory running again we demand that you feed us!" The soldier looked back at his comrades, a smirk growing on his face.

"Well then it appears this facility is out of order." Removing his pistol from the pouch on his belt, the solider shot at the worker with one bullet. The man fell flat on his back before the shrieking group.

"Due to this rebellious outbreak, you all are permanently relieved from your duties by order of Lord Shredder. This building and its workers will be terminated as a result of treason." He announced as the other soldiers began locking the doors around them. The workers began to screaming in protest as the huddled closer together in fear.

"Alright, time to move." Angel instructed.

"Wait, what's the plan?" Mikey asked.

"The plan: to get those soldiers to back off." Angel responded, taking out her gun. "Let's go!" kicking off the wall, she extended her legs and broke through the window, crashing into the open room. Mikey watched as the others followed her lead.

"That will be enough killing for one day." Angel remarked as the Foot soldiers drew their weapons in response to the group of resistance soldiers barreling in

"Traitorous, fools!" The head soldier cursed as he narrowed his gaze at her.

"The only fools here are those who wear the symbol of the Foot." Angel responded.

"Foot soldiers! Seize them!" The two armies charged at each other at the center of the room.

Mikey kept back and ran towards the huddled workers. Their faces were covered in dirt and blood from the abuse of the soldiers as well as lack of personal hygiene. They each wore dirty rags and were without shoes. There was a small group of children huddled close together, petrified by what they had experienced. Mikey kneeled in front of them, holding his hand up to show he was no danger to them. "Everything's going be all right. You're to be ok."

Angel parried swords with the head solider, pushing him towards the wall. With a spin, Angel went to round house kick the soldier but swing of his arm, he deflected her hit, throwing her off balance. Taking his advantage, he lunged forward with a downward swing of his sword. Angel quickly lifted her sword to make them clash as she caught herself against a conveyer belt.

"When will you pests learn to mind your own business?" The soldier snarled as he pushed his sword closer to her face.

"When you Foot soldiers learn to mind yours." Angel kicked his leg out from under him, causing him to fall into her lifted knee. The solider started to lift himself off the ground as Angel approached him.

"You are no match against our Lord Shredder. Our empire is constantly expanding while you burrow beneath us like rats."

"At least we don't follow a man who hides behind a mask." Angel pointed his sword at the soldiers face. "These employees are people- human beings like yourself! They are not animals and do not deserve to be treated as such."

"Well, if you value these scum so much." The soldier hit a button the remote he pulled from his pocket. "Then you can burn with them." Throwing down a smoke bomb the soldier disappeared, leaving Angel coughing up smoke. Mere seconds later an explosion occurred, shaking the whole building.

"We need to get these people out of here, now!" Angel ordered and she ran to one of the doors. Pushing on it, it proved to be locked from the outside and heat was radiating off of it. "The building is on fire from the outside- there's no way of escaping through the doors." Angel walked back over to her team.

"I thought you said doors were for chumps." Mikey reminded her.

"You have a plan?" She asked.

"Actually… I do." Mikey walked up the catwalk and examined through one of the windows they busted through. The building next to them wasn't that far apart for the building they were in, which meant there wasn't that big of a jump above the ally.

"Ok, I know a way out of here, but it might be a little crazy for you guys. It involves jumping off this building." Mikey remarked.

"Come again?" Angel asked.

"Don't worry everything will be fine. We just don't have a lot of time." He protested, helping two of the workers towards the catwalk stairs. The soldiers glanced at Angel with a confused look. "You heard the turtle, we're jumping off the building!" She ordered.

Mikey and Angel helped the rest up to the roof of the building, the fire busting through the windows and climbing higher. Once everyone was on the roof Mikey inspected the gap between the two buildings. Taking in a deep breath, he darted forward and jumped, the familiar sensation of soaring above the ally ways mixed in with the adrenaline. Landing on the other side Mikey released a sigh of relief.

"It's not that far of a jump, you're going to make it." He assured the workers as they stood timidly near the ledge. The burning building let out a loud creaking noise as the walls on the ground floor began to cave in. The building shifted, as soldiers began carrying children and assisting workers to jump to the other side. Once everyone was across, Angel jumped towards them, the roof caving in behind her.

"Move!" Angel ordered, leading the team down the fire escape and into the ally where parked their vehicles. Mikey looked back at the burning building just as it was about to collapse, sparks bursting into the night sky. He looked towards Angel and the workers he helped rescue, they huddled close to each other as Angel explained to them a place where they would be safe. The other soldiers helped the workers into one of their white vans and the group toke off back to HQ, the factory burning behind them.

\---

Mikey leaned against the doorframe of the infirmary, watching the workers get settled and checked for injuries.

"So, what do you think of the resistance after seeing us in action?" Angel asked as she walked up to stand next to him.

"I think you guys are crazy." Mikey responded. "But, I can get behind your cause."

"So you'll stay?" She asked, her green eyes lighting up with hope.

"I guess it wouldn't hurt."

"Well," Angel outstretched her hand to him. "Here's to working together." Mikey shook her hand in response and smiled a smile he hadn't given in years.

\-----

Angel walked into April's office and closed the door behind her.

"Our team was successful in rescuing the workers from the sector 48 factory, ma'am." Angel reported

"I want a full report on how Michelangelo did during this mission." April ordered.

"He actually did really well. I was impressed, in fact. He excelled in all of his tests and was performing much better than the other soldiers. It was like his disability wasn't an issue at all." Angel explained.

"Good. He may work after all." April replied. "Make sure he gets plenty of rest, he'll start his routine tomorrow."

"Yes, ma'am." Angel saluted before exiting the room. April walked over to her desk and opened the first drawer, revealing Metalhead's robotic head. Picking it up she rested her forehead on its and sighed. "This is going to work this time." She sighed. "It has too."


	12. Little Talks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Being considered a "rookie" to the organization, April puts Mikey on cleaning duty

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry if Baxter Stockman seems OOC. There's just so much potential for his character and I don't like the way the 2012 write him off. I like the IDW comics one personally. Leave a review with your thoughts

Mikey stood at one end of Shredder's portal room with the doors at his back. The portal in the center of the room was turned on, the pink light swirling to the center and causing the lights above to flicker as tools and items of the room were being sucked inside its gaping mouth. Shredder stood in front of its light, with one hand clenched around Donatello's neck as he held him high off his feet. Both of Donnie's hands were clasped around his grip as he tried to break his hold.

The portal started making a freighting sound as it flickered a white light, causing Donnie's pleading eyes to meet Mikey's.

"I have control of New York City. I have control over the world. I have control over all of the dimensions! You think you can stop me now?" Shredder exclaimed.

Another blinding flicker of light illuminated the portal before Donnie was standing before him, both his hands holding on to his shoulders.

"Do something, Mikey!"

 

Mikey eye's shot open as he awoke with a gasp. His body laid stiff with fear.

He hadn't a dream like that since…

"What the hell?" Mikey cursed to himself as he ripped the sheets from his body and walked out of his room. At the dead of night, the HQ was silent with the occasional sounds of the walls resting into the earth. Only a few lights were still on to serve as emergency lights, giving the hallway an eerie glow.

He opened the double doors that led to the deserted cafeteria. Only the center lights were on so the room's perimeter was completely dark as he sat at one of the tables. Images from his nightmare flashed in his head, causing his throat to close up. He closed his eyes with a heavy sigh as he ran his hand down his face.

"Michelangelo?" With a jump Mikey spun to where he heard his name to be faced with a startled Angel. "I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I didn't mean to frighten you." She held up her hands in surrender.

"No, I-I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be so jumpy." Mikey apologized, feeling embarrassed for his lack of awareness.

"It's fine." She gave him a small smile as she sat in the chair across from him. "So, what brings you here in the middle of the night? You know breakfast isn't served till 7 right?"

"Yeah, I couldn't sleep so I thought… well I thought I'd sit in an empty cafeteria." Mikey shrugged.

"I understand. There's not much to do around here off schedule except lay in bed and pray that you'll be able to fall asleep that night." Angel sighed looking down at her hands rested on the table.

"I feel as though you have nights like these a lot." Mikey pointed out.

"Yeah." She nodded her head. "So, how are you settling in? It must not be too difficult for you considering that you guys lived underground for most of your life anyway."

"Aw, yeah, but it was never this controlling and organized. I mean daily schedules? Specific eating times? There's even three different kinds of training per day!" Mikey exclaimed.

"Well we have to train your body, mind, and your ability to shoot a gun." Angel stated.

"What ever happened to just training sessions that taught you both? I never imagined we'd be living in a world where everyone's on their toes with a gun pointed at their heads. Although, being here does kind of give me a sense of life before all this." Mikey replied.

There was a pause between them before Angel finally asked, "What was Donatello like?"

"What?"

"Donatello, you're brother. April never really goes into detail about him. What was he like?"

"Donnie…" Mikey sighed a laugh. "Donatello was amazing. Never in my life have I met someone who could be as great as he was. He was kind and generous, selfless, a smartalic, and extremely smart." He listed. "He could do anything! He could turn plain garbage into just amazing inventions- like a robot! For example. And he was a whizz with technology, he could hack into any computer and he was always the go to guy to fix things even when it was us that needed fixed. He probably could've cured the common cold eventually! He always knew just exactly what to do to fix anything and make it better." Mikey sighed before his tone began to change. "And then he was taken from us and everything just began to fall apart. Our family, our friends, the lair, the world. It was like he was the one holding everything together. Leo and Raph were always fighting and Splinter was just too depressed to do anything to stop them; always meditating and resting. April's visits to the lair became less common and for a while it just seemed like I was alone. Donnie was my best friend. The person I could go to to get away from it all."

A flood of memories came to Mikey's mind: How he would sit in Donnie's lab and watch him work, how they'd just talk until one in the morning when he'd fall asleep with his head on Donnie's desk, how he'd create an alibi for him when his pranks on Raph backfired on him, his bright smile when his inventions worked as well as he wanted them to.

His clenched shut eyes when Shredder pierced his blades into his torso.

"What about April and Donnie's relationship?" Angel asked pulling him out of his thoughts.

"Oh, gez." Mikey laughed at the thought of trying to sum up two lovesick teenagers whose whole universe revolved around the other.

"Donnie had fell in love with her from the moment he first saw her and it only manifested the longer we've known her. Eventually he worked up the nerve to ask her out and thankfully she agreed which led up to them finally becoming a thing, which was only a matter of time considering that he was always starring dreamingly at her and she was always sneaking kisses to him when they thought no one was paying attention."

"They must've really loved each other." Angel stated.

"Yeah. Yeah, they did. They had been together for a about year and a half before he died. April was so devastated for a while. I can tell it left some scars." Mikey sighed.

"It did. She doesn't talk about him that much, I guess it still hurts, but we all know she still cares about him." The two had another moment of silence before Mikey cleared his throat.

"So what about you?" He asked. "What's your tragic backstory?"

"Oh where do I begin?" She shook her head. "Before all this I used to live with my dad, my grandma, and my older brother in a small apartment. I was 10 at the time Shredder dropped the first bombs. My brother and I were able to escape the falling buildings but the others didn't." She sighed. "Then for a while it was just my brother and me while the city was going to shit. We were put in a factory that assembled weapons for the Foot soldiers when one day our factory was attacked by the resistance. Us workers and the resistance tried to fight against the soldiers but the building caught fire according to the Foot's plan. My brother and I escaped but there were still some workers trapped inside so he went back in to save them but the building collapsed before he could get out." Angel paused. "April and Casey toke me in and brought me here. April trained me and made sure I was taken care of even after Casey's passing and soon enough I was promoted up to Commander. I assembled a team of some of the best soldiers of my class and now I'm rescuing slaves who are willing to stand up against the Foot clan like you saw this afternoon." Angel nodded.

"Man, I'm sorry to hear that about your brother. He sounds like he was cool dude." Mikey replied.

"He was." Angel sighed. "Always trying to be the hero and was always looking after me."

"Sounds like Leo." The comment popped into Mikey's head without warning. "Or what Leo used to be like." He quickly reminded himself.

"Well we should probably try to get some sleep. You'll have a big day tomorrow as first day part of the resistance." Angel stated standing up.

"Yeah, who knows what kind of crazy task you'll throw me into next."

\----

"Cleaning duty." April held up a bucket and sponge up to him.

"What?" Mikey asked.

"I know you're a highly trained ninja and all that, but if I don't treat you like the other soldiers and start you from the bottom, there'll probably be problem." April gave him a smile. "It's only temporarily, maybe it will give you a chance to get to know the place a little better." She encouraged. Mikey toke the bucket from her hand and headed the opposite direction towards the garages.

Filling his bucket with soapy water, he plated himself beside the first white van and started scrubbing the dirt and grim off the side.

The opening of the door behind him made him jump as he turned around. Stockman walked inside, carrying a toolbox under his left arm. He turned around, making eye contact with Mikey.

"Well, fancy seeing you here, Michelangelo." A devilish grin spreading across his face.

Mikey let out a long sigh as he rolled his eyes

He set his toolbox down next to the vehicles on the other side of the garage and began taking out his tools. "So I see they downgraded you too?" Mikey kept silent, continuing to scrub the side of the van.

"I'm sure it won't be for long, though." Stockman continued. "I have a feeling they'll promote you faster than they'll promote me."

He let the room stay silent for a few seconds longer before continuing to start a conversation again. "So, are you enjoying your time here?"

"Is there something you want from me?" Mikey finally responded.

"An attempt at a conversation would be nice." Stockman replied.

"Ok, here's a conversation starter: how the hell were you able to convince April that you, a loyal servant to the shredder, is a better man now? That you've had some revelation and made the switch of good? Especially after all the hell you gave us before? How all this madness if because of your wrong doing?"

"Ah, excellent question!" Stockman replied. "The persistent, short-tempered, woman approached me, actually. She came rambling on about some big and classified project that she didn't want any of her own scientist to put together."

"What kind of project?" Mikey interrogated.

"Like I said it's classified, even to you. And I'm not taking orders from Shredder anymore. Not after he tossed me away like moldy bread."

"Why would Shredder kick you out? Aren't you like his personal repair man?"

"Was his personal repair man until after… an accident which left me on the streets with a constant reminder of Shredder's hatred." Stockman answered, his hand brushing down his blind eye. "After believing that this was just the end of the road for me, Ms. O'Neil found me and locked me down here."

"Why agree to be a slave for one person when you were finally free from another?" Mikey asked.

"You've seen what the world is like up there. I barely escaped Shredder alive and look at the shape I am now. Unless you know how to shoot a gun and survive by eating once a week, you don't stand a chance on the surface." Stockman declared. "I'd rather be trapped down here with that infernal red haired woman than be up there where death awaits me."

"So what happens to you after you finish this project?"

"Not sure, and don't care at the moment. I have much more to think about now then what lies ahead for me later. Besides, this project is going to take me a long time to finish."

Mikey finished cleaning the van and began moving on to the next.

"So how are the others in the reptilian quartet?" Stockman asked.

"Don't know. Don't care." He replied flatly.

"Oh, that's right I guess it's more of a trio now?" Mikey's hand stopped mid-way from wiping across the hood of the van. "It's a shame what happened to your brother. You were all skilled in your individual ways, what with Leonardo being the whiny leader, Raphael, the buff jock, and you, well, you were always there for creative input, right? Now Donatello, on the other hand that was a kid who could've gone places other than six feet in the ground. I mean he was amazing! All of those inventions that he created for you all to use in the field were more advanced than any technology I could've created. And it was all made from garbage! That kid he truly had a gift. "

"Don't talk about Donatello. Don't you ever speak of my brother." Mikey narrowed his gaze at him as his hand tightened to a fist.

"Apologies. I didn't know it was still a touchy subject." Stockman replied in defense.

"It's not, I'd just appreciate it if his name wasn't spoken of by scum like you. You never knew him. You knew nothing about him! So don't pretend that you weren't rejoicing with Shredder when he pronounced dead." Mikey stood up with his bucket in hand as he stomped towards the door.

"And I don't care how much you have everyone else fooled with your 'revelation', to me, you'll always be that pathetic, selfish madman who damned us all." Mikey slammed the door behind him, leaving Stockman alone in the garage.


	13. Morning Routines

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikey's first training sessions doesn't go so well...

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm not really one to add OCs into fanfics but as I was writing this he sort of just came to be so I hope you enjoy him

April watched Mikey stormed out of the garage and slam his bucket into the sink before approaching him.

"Well, that was quick." She remarked.

"How can you believe anything that… that… devil has to say?" Mikey asked.

"I don't." April remarked as she walked around him to glance through the window on the door to the garage. "But he's useful to us in ways you don't understand yet."

"Well, whatever this 'classified' project is I'm sure it's not worth dealing with him." He scoffed.

"I take it you two didn't get along?" April asked.

"I hate him." Mikey shook his head. "I hate him so much."  
"Ok, ok, it's clear now that having you two in the same room together isn't going to work so you can hold off on cleaning duty for now."

"Thank you."

"Instead we will start your training." She began to walk away.

"Wait, what? Now?"

\----

Mikey stood at the center of a square shaped room while several resistance soldiers circled around him. April and Angel stood at one of the balconies that looked over the dojo.

"Are you sure you don't want me to hold back? I don't want to hurt you're soldiers too badly." Mikey smirked.

"Don't worry about them. These are some of our most elite soldiers. They can take a beating." April shrugged. "I figured since you toke down Angel's without breaking a sweat you'd be up for something a little more challenging."

The first soldier to advance towards him came from his left, armed with tonfas. They parried with their weapons until the second soldier came towards him with a sword. Back flipping away, the two solider toke their stance in front of him.

Mikey gave a small smirk as they darted towards him.

Using his nunchaku and body movements he was able to avoid all their attempts at contact with their weapons. Using his kurgasami chain he tossed it to wrap around the soldier with the tonfas' waist. Before he could get a hold of it, Mikey gave it a hard pull, having the solider fall forward before he came in contact with Mikey's knee.

The other solider tried to lay an attack while he was distracted by swinging his sword horizontally at Mikey. Mikey ducked from the blade having the soldier miss while Mikey kicked his legs out from under him.

"Those are the best you got?" Mikey directed at April with a cocky laugh.

He turned towards the last remaining soldier who stood behind him. He stood about up to Mikey's waist, his dark brown hair hanging loosely over his eyes.

"I guess you're next, huh?" Mikey lowered his stance as he began twirling his nunchaku. The soldier got in his stance before pulling out his weapon of choice: a bo staff.

April leaned further in on the railing as she watched Mikey's reaction.

Mikey's breath hitched as his eyes locked on the long wooden stick in his attackers hands. He began twirling in front of him he darted towards Mikey, the staff a brown blur as it spun in a fast circle.

Mikey glanced behind him to watch the other two soldiers move off the sparing floor.

Mikey toke his first swing with his nunchaku, but with every attempt, the boy's staff would deflect. The boy spun to land a wheelhouse kick to Mikey, but his reflexes were much faster, allowing him to block his foot with his forearm and knocking him off balance. Mikey swung his nunchaku again but the boy ducked from it a spun around so he was behind Mikey, giving his an advantage to lay a hit on him. He continued to land his staff on Mikey as Mikey tried to turn to him to block, his aggravation rising. Mikey turned to meet him again but the boy was behind him and swung his bo to knock Mikey's feet from under him.

The boy let out a laugh as he strutted away with his staff rested on his shoulders. With a growl of aggravation, Mikey got to his feet and released his kurgasami. The boy saw the chain and quickly turned its direction and held out his staff so the chain wrapped around it. He gave it a strong pull but the boy planted his feet and kept a tight grip on his weapon. Mikey gritted his teeth as he twisted his hand around the chain to gain more strength in his pull. The boy only smirked at his struggle.

"If you want the staff so much, have it." the boy let go, having the staff come back and hit Mikey in the face. Stumbling back the boy ran towards him, picked up his weapon from the ground and jumped to deliver the final side kick to Mikey's chest, causing him to fall. The boy held the end of the staff towards Mikey's face before unleashing the blade at the top, Mikey's blue eyes growing wide at its tip.

"Alright, he's had enough, Ben. You are dismissed." April instructed.

The boy gave Mikey one last grin before bowing to April and exiting the room.

Mikey balled up his fist as he sat up.

"Not a bad fighter, isn't he?" April asked as she walked down to meet with him.

"Yeah he's fantastic." Mikey spat as he walked past her.

"Don't take it too hard, Mikey. We've been training him since he could walk." April said in dismiss.

"So have I! I'm a 35 year old trained ninja and I just got my ass handed to me by a twelve year old!"  
"Well, actually he's ten…" April winced.

"10! What are you feeding them?" Mikey was taken aback.

"Don't let it get to you, Mikey. So you're a little rusty, that's why you're in training."

"This is stupid. I don't even know what I'm doing here or even why I want to get tangled up in all this again." Mikey sighed.

"Follow me." April led him into the Cafeteria and back into the kitchen where chefs were beginning to prepare dinner. Approaching a large metal door April put her hand against the scanner to unlock the door. The fresh scent of earth was pushed out the doorway causing Mikey to take in a deep breath. The smell of fresh dirt and leaves was nearly forgotten in his mind due to the overabundance of smoke in the air above ground.

"Come." April motioned him inside the sealed room, exposing him to a greenhouse like area. The room was longer in length than it was in width and had several rows of plants lined down the room. Walking down the one of the rows, Mikey examined the various plants that were growing on either side of him. Every plant in there produced some sort of fruit or vegetable. The ceiling was made of plastic sheeting and the surrounding walls weren't walls at all but compacted dirt. Mikey ran his along it, letting his fingers dig deep until the soil was between his fingers.

"This is amazing! I never would've thought there would be a greenhouse back here." Mikey said as she brushed his hand along the missed green leaves as he walked by them.

"Of course. Where else do you think we get our fresh food?" April asked as she went behind one of the rows to get to the end of the green house. "The plastic sheeting absorbs the sunlight, making it warm in here for the plants to grow year round."

"But where does that ceiling lead to? Aren't you afraid the Foot will see it?" Mikey asked.

"The Foot don't come through these woods often anymore. Maybe once or twice a year." April explained. "Plus there are dried up dead bushes around it so it keeps hidden by their branches."

Along the back wall grew an assortment of violet flowers separated from the produce.

"Irisis?" Mikey questioned as he examined the flowers.  
"They were Donnie's favorite." April sighed. "They also represent wisdom, faith, hope, and courage: All the traits that make up the resistance."

"Come on." April picked a bundle of the flowers "We're going on a trip."

\---

The surface air was much warmer than the cold temperature of the HQ due to the sun beginning to set over the destructed city. The two crept quietly through its abandoned streets, making sure to keep within alley ways and dark corners where then sun couldn't touch.

Mikey's blue eyes scanned the familiar surroundings from the uplifted pavement to the heavy clouds of smoke that drifted overhead. A street sign post sat sideways in the cement, it's sign faded, but a couple letters could be made out.

That's when Mikey realized where they were going.

"No." He stopped, having April stop too to look back at him. "No, I don't want to be here, let's just go back."

"But, this is part of your training." April insisted.

"No, I don't. I don't think I can-"April let out a sigh as she approached him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "I know it never easy, but we all have to face our inner demons eventually. This is part of your inner training." She continued walking. "To see if you would be able to face those demons if they ever approached you."

Mikey toke in a deep breath as he continued to follow her.

The oncoming building sat in ruins with walls caving in and shattered stain glass windows. It was obvious the place was abandoned and left to rot. The front entrance was blocked off from the entrance of the door crumbling down so April led them around a side entrance.

"This way." She instructed as she opened the rusted emergency exit. Mikey let out a calming breath before stepping inside.

The inside of the old church looked nothing like it did 20 years ago. Parts of the ceiling had come crashing down, allowing the full moon's light to shine down upon them and the debris had create an obstacle course to get to the other side of the room. As they walked through, Mikey noticed a hole in one of the tall walls. Glancing through, he could barely make out a resemblance on what that room use to look like except for one small detail, sitting on the upper platform above all the crumbling rock was Shredder's old throne.

Taking in a quick breath, Mikey backed away from the sight.

"Are you sure this place is totally abandoned?" Mikey asked.

"Definitely. Shredder completely abandoned this place once his empire began to grow. He forced the enslaved citizens to build his giant fortress in the center of the city and once completed he saw no need to keep this intact. So he left it to fall apart which it is doing a great job ." She explained as she cleared away so debris to reveal a set of stairs that led downwards.

Creeping down the stairs, they came across a long hallway that sent a chill down Mikey's spine. His feet grew heavier with each step towards the door and his heart rate increased.

April swung open the decayed large double doors to reveal the room that served as a setting to Mikey's nightmares.

The room that started everything.

The portal was gone, obviously, as was everything else in the room. The empty room was only littered with fallen concrete from the ceiling and some left behind wires.

April continued into the room, her eyes glancing around as she toke in the familiar atmosphere. Mikey stopped at the top of the steps, his eyes scanning across the room. He couldn't force his body to follow her inside. He just remained frozen like he did all those years ago.

\------

"MIKEY I SAID NOW!" Raph's voice screamed at him, knocking him out of his trance. Raph's emerald green eyes were glistening as they glared hard at him before turning towards their brother who was lying on the floor. Breaking free from his still state he tore off running through the doors and into the halls.

He ran so hard that his heart was pounding against his chest and his clenched palms grew moist.

He ran so hard that his breath was quick but he wasn't tired.

He ran so hard that he didn't even notice that the lights were back on or how there was no foot solider in sight to stop him.

Pushing through the doors, Mikey stumbled towards the shellraiser.

"Mikey? What's going on? Where are the others?" April asked as the Shellraier's door slid open.

"I-I don't know w-what happened! Everything was going fine and then he came and Donnie he- he- oh god!" Mikey clasped his hands over his face.

"Mikey. Where are they? What happened to Donnie?" She asked sternly as she placed her hands on his shoulders. Mikey tried to control his breathing but each breath was choked back by a sob. "Take me to him." She grabbed his hand and they both ran back into Shredder's lair and into the portal room.

At the sight of Raphael hunched over with Donnie's motionless body in his arms they knew they were too late. Mikey glanced over at April who let her hand fall out of Mikey's grip as her other hand clasped to her mouth. She walked over to the two before falling to her knees.

Mikey could only stare towards them, his knees locked and unable to move him towards them.

He didn't want to see what Raphael was loudly sobbing at.  
He didn't want to see where that puddle of red liquid beneath him was coming from.

\--------

April turned towards Mikey who stood stiff with his hand clenched in a fist, a cold stare towards the ground.

"Mikey?"

"This is where I stood when it happened." He replied. "I just stood here and starred at him like a… like a fucking idiot when he needed me the most. They both needed me."

"And you helped them. You came and got me like Raph wanted you too." April placed a hand on his shoulder  
"BUT THAT DIDN'T SAVE HIM!" Mikey snapped suddenly causing April to draw back her hand.

Mikey let out a deep sigh before dropping to his knees. April followed.

"Why? Of all the times, why did I just freeze like that? I could've done so much more to help and I did nothing. I could've- He could still be alive if I just-"

"Michelangelo, none of this is your fault. There was nothing else you could've done." April assured him. "Everything that happened that day was part of Shredder's plan to which we fell for. It cost us a great loss but now we have to move on and learn from our mistakes in order to stand against him." April laid the irises on a specific place on the ground.

"That's what the resistances is about. Letting go of your fears and the things that hold you back in order to face the demons that lie ahead. The Shredder has taken too much away from us and it's about time we do something to stop him, avenge those that we lost in this war.

You belong with us. We need you Mikey."

The journey back to HQ was quiet as the moon shone upon the ruined city. When Mikey stepped out of the elevator he paused near the middle of the room.

Angle was leaned over the table talking with two other soldiers, they each had a smile on their face. The people they saved from the factory were up and walking around with a healthy glow across their faces and cleansed of their abuse from the Foot. A couple were even wearing resistance uniforms.

These people were away from Shedder's grasp and in a safe community; a place where didn't have to slave away for 18 hours but instead could do what they wanted.

A place where they belonged.

Maybe this was where Mikey belonged.


	14. The Truth Unfolds

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After going through papers on April's desk, Mikey discovers a secret he wishes would've been kept a secret.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow I did not mean for such a long break between these two chapter but with internet malfunctions and writers block during conversations it just seemed the world was against me putting this up -_-  
> Never fear though here it is the chapter that some of you may have been waiting for and personally the chapter I've been excited to write!  
> ~Enjoy

"And if you take the next left to enter these tunnels it should lead you right outside the gates of the city near your shrine." The soldier explained to Mikey as she ran her finger along a drawn path on the map on the table. "These tunnels are used to get to different places without having to go above ground in risk of being captured by soldiers, this one specifically to get outside the city and to trade with our other bases in the surrounding areas. It was based off the sewer system you and your brothers used to live in."

"That's really cool." Mikey praised.

"Now, I just have to take these files to the infirmary and then deliver these plans to the General." She stepped away from the table with a folders in her hand.

"I'll take them to her for you." Mikey reached out his hand.  
"Are you sure?"  
"Yeah, it's no problem. It'll save you the walk. Plus, I'm heading that direction anyway." Mikey shrugged as she handed the folder to him.

After she thanked him, Mikey headed towards the barracks and towards April's office. He gave the door a knock and waited.

"April? You in there?" He asked as he knocked again, but this time the door drifted open a crack. Letting his curiosity take ahold of him Mikey glanced around before stepping inside.

The rooms only light came from a lamp on the desk in the corner. It was covered with papers and maps hung on the walls around it. Mikey laid the file on top of the papers before his attention was drawn to a framed photograph on her desk.

The picture was an old selfie of his brothers, her, Casey, and himself. Picking up the frame he ran his thumb against the glass over his brothers, his mouth slightly lifting into a smile.

His eyes drifted down to the desk as he set back down the picture. A crumbled piece of paper sticking out from under the pile beckoned his attention. Giving another glance back at the door he pushed aside the surface papers.

The crumbled paper was a pencil sketch of the stealth bike that used to be connected to the Shellraiser. Looking closer, Mikey realized this was no ordinary sketch.

A pencil sketch made by his brother.

Pushing through the rest of the papers he started to recognize more of the sketches and notes and the handwriting they were written in. Each of them were written by Donnie.

Suddenly, the clicking of a gun behind him made him stand up straight.  
"Step away from my desk." April's stern voice spoke.

Turning around came face to face with barrel of her weapon. "I thought I told you to never come in here, Michelangelo." She responded to realizing it was him.

"These notes- they all look so familiar." Mikey continued to examine the papers.

"Michelangelo, I told you to get away from there." Her voice grew sterner.

"This is Donnie's handwriting- these are his notes! You stole these from his lab, didn't you?" Mikey turned to face her.

"Michelangelo-"

"That's why the bolt was off the door when I went down there. You broke it off!"

"Just let me explain-!"

"Those notes belonged to my brother. My brother who's been dead for twenty years. We locked his lab up to keep his memory and you trespassed in there and stole his stuff!"

"I did not steal anything, Michelangelo-"

"Then why are his notes here instead of there? Why was the lock broken from the door! You had no right to be in there! What was so important that you felt the need to take these?"

"I needed these notes for something very important. Donnie would've understood."

"What would you know? I don't believe you." Mikey scoffed.

"You don't believe me? Then fine, get ready for your first solo mission cause there's only place you can go to get the truth if you don't believe me." With that April stomped out of the room, leaving Mikey glaring at the doorway. His blue eyes darted back to the papers scattered on her desk before following her out.

\------

Mikey sat at a desk chair while Angel put in his ear piece.

"Your mission is to go to the lair and enter Donnie's lab yourself." April instructed.  
"Oh, so now you want me to do the trespassing for you?"  
"No, I want you to just go in there and take a good look around."

"April, I don't think this is such-" April held up her hand, silencing Angel.

"You wanted answers, that's where they'll be. You're not going to believe me if I tell you so you're just going to have to find out for yourself."

\-----

Mikey kept his hand in a tight fist as he trudged through the sewers once more. This mission was ridiculous. Why should he have to return to that god forsaken place just to prove a point?

April is a thief.

He stepped back through the small opening in the entrance to be in the main room of the lair. He faced the steal double doors and starred coldly at the broken lock on the floor. Picking it up, he pushed open one of the doors and slid inside.

Everything was as it was before, except instead of being occupied by a six foot terrapin it was occupied by an infestation of vegetation.

"Ok, I'm in Donnie's lab… what am I looking for?" Mikey scoffed into his head piece.

"Take a good look around, Michelangelo. Notice anything different?" April asked on the other end. "Nothing but vines and a good layer of dust." Mikey answered.

"Look harder, it's something that's been there before, but never explained."

"You know I'm not really in the mood for riddles, April." Mikey walked further into the room, sliding his feet to create a trail through the dust.

"The only real recent thing is his latest invention under this cloak but I don't know what that has to do with you stealing his notes."

"Why not take a look to see what's under that cloak?" April asked.

Mikey's curiosity jumped at her question as he looked back at the large object covered up.

"N-no. Donnie told me to never touch it and I'm respecting his wishes." Mikey snapped back.

"But why would Donnie not want you to know what's under there? I thought he always shared his inventions with you three?" April asked.

"What are you trying to do, April?" Mikey asked.

"Nothing, I just don't want any more secrets to be kept form you." She responded.

Taking another look at the cloak covered object, Mikey let out a sigh of uncertainty  
He lifted his only hand to the cover but pulled it away before it made contact.

Removing this cover would be mean he had stooped down to her level, and Mikey wasn't about to let April have the satisfaction of being right.

Then again, what secrets were being kept form him?

Out of all of Donnie's precious inventions why would it be the one he worked the hardest on be the one he kept a secret from them?

What was this cloak keeping form him?

Mikey swallowed hard as he griped onto the worn, brown cloth, ripping it off from the device. His light blue eyes grew wide with fear as he stumbled backwards.

Standing before him was the dimensional portal form Shredder's lair.

"No... N-No this isn't right. This can't be."

"Mikey? Mikey what did you find?" April said over the line. Mikey couldn't muster anything to say as he backed away, eyes wide with horror.

"Michelangelo, what did you find?" April ordered. Mikey reached up and pulled the headset off his head, collapsing to his knees.

"He-he lied to us… he did this to us…" Mikey could muster fragments as he starred up at the portal before. The world he thought he knew shattered around him.

\-------

As Metalheads video was drawing to an end Mikey unsheathed one of the knives kept between the wrappings on his hand and threw it at the wall, the blade landing between Donnie's eyes. April followed him as he stomped out of the room.

"Michelangelo." She called out to him.

"No." He turned to her with a cold stare. "No, I don't want to hear anything from you."

"You wouldn't listen to me when I tried to explain. You had to find out someway."

"He did this! How could he do this to us? How could he have just-?"

"He didn't have a choice. He was a slave of the Shredder before the rest of us were and the only way to make sure nothing happened to you three was if he did what he asked. He literally gave up the world for you!"

"But he could've told us he was in danger! We're his family, we would've helped him that was our job!"

"And you heard him say what would've happened if he did. He did this to protect you. Shredder was keeping him prisoner and unless he created what he wanted you would've never seen him again and is that what you would've wanted? For him to disappear and you never know what happened to him?" April asked.

"But he did build that! And he's still gone! And now he's the one responsible for all of this! He's been the one to blame for everything that has happened to us these past twenty years! Me losing my arm, Raph's alcoholism, Leo's broken spirit, even Casey and Splinter's death!"

"Don't you dare, Michelangelo! Donatello is not to blame for all of that!"

"And why not? He granted that devil power! The one person who had the ambition to tear us apart and he gave him that opportunity!"

"And what was the cost of it?" April snapped back. "What was his reward for granting him that power?"

"Death." Mikey responded. "And maybe he did deserve it."

April's mouth dropped at Mikey's words. He took pride in that hurt as he walked away from her, leaving her stand still in shock.

"Michelangelo, wait!" Mikey stormed through the cafeteria as Angel ran to catch up to him.

"Michelangelo, I know how you're feeling. You're feeling upset, angry, confused, and I get that." Angel admitted as followed beside him in his attempt to get away.

"I felt this exact same way when my brother went back into that building to save those people and died. I remember asking myself every night why it had to be him. Why did he have to go in there and save those strangers- people we didn't even know- and give up his life? Why did he have to leave me?" Angel explained. Mikey stopped, keeping his back to her and his hand in a fist.

"Being here made me realize why he did. He did it out of love. He put others before himself even when he didn't know them because that was his job. It's our job too. And it's because of that sacrifice it inspired me to be where I am today. I didn't understand it either at first and just wanted to be mad. I also felt betrayed! I wanted to know why he ran from me to get himself killed for people he didn't know.

Just as Donnie went behind your backs to form his own plan to take down Shredder. He put his life on the line to make sure nothing bad happened to you guys. And when his plan failed he didn't surrender or back down he kept going with you guys and didn't hide from him even though he knew he was going to die that night because the thought of it happening to you guys scared him more."

"Maybe, but your brother didn't single handily give Shredder the power to take over the universe. He didn't put a device in Shredder's hands that enabled him to enslave all of us and turn the world into his empire." Mikey fired back.

"Donnie wasn't the only one created this machine." Angel defended.

"Well, besides the Kraang who else would've had the knowledge to build something that could send people to different dimensions who would have ties to Shredder…Stockman!" Mikey growled before turning on his heels towards the downstairs laboratory.

\-----

As he shoved open the doors, Stockman turned to greet him with a shit-eating grin.

"Ah, Michelangelo. I'm surprised to see you here-" Mikey grabbed him by the collar of his shirt, pulling him towards himself.

"I want answers and I want them now. No more dancing around the questions, got it?" Mikey growled. "I want to know what happened."

"I haven't the slightest idea what you're talking about." Stockman responded in a calm tone.

"You know what I'm talking about Stinkhead, don't act like you and everyone else in this damned HQ don't know about who's really responsible for Shredder reign. That's why she's keeping you here isn't? Because you helped build that thing and now she thinks you can tear it down?"

"So, the truth unfolds." Stockman lifted a brow as he softly pushed Michelangelo off of him. "Ms. O'Neil let you in on our little secret?"

"Yeah, I now know everything. How long were you thinking of keeping it from me?" Mikey asked.

"Not very long. Just until April thought you'd be ready to be hit with such a curveball." Stockman answered.

"Well, now that it's in the open I want to know what happened. What made that- that bastard betray us and go behind our backs to just hand Shredder his key to unlimited power?"

"Donatello did not betray you and your brothers. I can call your brother many things but a traitor would not be one of them. And I would rather you not talk about your brother in such an ill fitted manner, considering all he's given up for you."

"What do you know about my brother?" Mikey growled giving him a cold glare.

"Your brother" Stockman stated. "He was unbelievable. In all the years I've spent in the field of science I've never seen anyone as bright as he was- and he was only a child! He cared so much about your group; so selfless. I remember the first day Shredder's soldiers dragged him in. He cursed and threatened and showed no fear towards him, for he knew you'd rescue him.

When Shredder finally got through to him Donatello and I began our work on the portal. We didn't quite see eye to eye at first, mainly because I was supposed to lead that project until one day he just drags in some kid to replace me, but as we continued to work together I started to see his genius and so did Shredder."

"What do you mean?" Mikey asked.

"One day before Shredder released him for the night he brought him into his throne room with no soldiers to escort him. Shredder tried to put in his head that he was much better off without you guys and you were only holding him back then he offered him a place in the Foot clan. He said he could put his knowledge to a better use than molding together garbage."

"If Shredder valued him so much than why did he kill him?" Mikey asked.

"Because Donnie believed he could out smart him and it didn't work out." Stockman replied. "When he first proposed his idea to hijack the device the next I thought he had finally lost it, but when he got it to work I knew it was pure genius. That was until Shredder found out." Stockman changed tones. "He was supposed to test it that night, not during the day. He sent a soldier in and when he didn't come back he directed his fury at me." He explained as he brushed his finger against the scar over his left eye.

"He sent the purple dragons to lure you in, I was hoping Donnie would've came up with a plan by then, but I guess Shredder just played the upper hand like always."

"When I was informed of his death I was… very upset. Shredder's present goons paraded the streets cheering that the "the violet, ignorant, fool has been destroyed" but that's not who Donatello was. He was my friend, an ally, and I'd like him to be remembered that way."

"More like a traitor to his family." Mikey turned.

"What your brother did was selfless act, without him doing what he did you wouldn't even be standing in this HQ perhaps you'd be right along beside him right now. What he did, he did out of love for you not hate and if you can't see that then maybe you're still too young to understand how the world works."

Mikey scoffed before he stomped out of the room.

"I don't think that was such a good thing to tell him at a time like this." Angel scolded as she walked up to him from standing in the doorway.  
"Michelangelo may not be the young, innocent child he was when we first met, but he still has a lot of growing left to do. There are still so many things he's not been exposed to."

\-----

Mikey slammed the door to his bedroom, assuring that it made a loud enough slam for everyone to hear before throwing his gear against the wall.

"They're all liars." Mikey muttered as he paced the room. "Why did I let myself be plunged into this chaos again?"

Collapsing onto his bed he felt something hard poking at his side and making him uncomfortable. He reached into one of the side pouches on his belt and pulled out his old T-phone. It was pretty rough around the edges and had a few cracks in the screen but luckily it still worked after all these years. Turning it on, his thumb immediately went to his pictures. Scrolling through he came across a photo that triggered a light. It was a selfie of himself as he hovered over Donnie who was sitting at his desk, a look of disapproval on his face as he held up his arm in an attempt to push the camera away. He could remember that day vividly: Donnie sitting in his lab working endlessly on recreating the retro mutagen before he came bursting in and began his attempt to pull him away from his work, even resulting in him taking numerous pictures of his annoyed older brother claiming that "the camera loved him". In the end he was able to pull him out of his lab at the mention of meeting April above ground for a mission to spy on TCRI.

Sliding his thumb over again, he came across a video with a blurry image of Donnie's face as the front image. Hitting play his heart sank at the sound of his brother's voice.

"This is Michelangelo in an exclusive interview with world genius Hamato Donatello." Mikey's younger voice narrated as the camera accelerated towards Donnie crouched next to the Shellraiser.

"Mr. Donatello, What amazing scientific breakthrough are you working on now?" The camera zoomed in on Donnie's amused, but slightly confused face.

"Oil change." Donnie held up his greasy gloves.

"Oil change." Mikey gasped. "And what are you changing the oil to be? Is it going to make the Shellraiser faster?

"No, but it will keep the engine from getting ruined."

"And is it a dangerous job to change oil?" Mikey asked in a serious tone.

"No, in fact it's quiet easy actually. First I-"

"Ok! That's all the time we have for this interview!" Mikey quickly interrupted as he turned around, the last shot being Donnie shaking his head as he laughed in amusement.

Back then, anytime Donnie would go off on a scientific rant Mikey would immediately tune out, but today he would give anything to hear Donnie talk about those boring topics.

Before he could stop himself hot tears were streaming down his face.

He set the phone aside as he rested his face in his hand, his breaths coming out a gasps as he tried to hide his grief. How could he remain angry at something that no longer exists? His brother didn't purposely tend to hurt him, especially now while he's resting next to their father. But this thought didn't stop the pain in his chest. The Shredder had poisoned their family since the beginning and he wasn't about to let him take away his last hope.

\------

Stockman had just finished wiping off his last tool when the doors to the lab burst open. Michelangelo stood in the lit doorway, his head down and his hand still holding the door.

"Good evening, Michelangelo." Stockman solemnly greeted him. Mikey didn't respond as he pulled out a chair and sat at the desk, resting his face on his hand.

The silence in the room was making it hard for Stockman to concentrate.

"Can I help you with something?" He asked.

"Do you… do you have any more stories about Donatello?" Mikey replied.

Stockman let out a sigh as he turned his back to him.

"One thing I came to know about your brother was that he had quite a mouth on him." Mikey smiled as he rested his head on the table. "I remember when Shredder first brought him into the lab where I working and right to his face he called him a, oh what was it, a heartless walking bastard? Now, none of us would have dared to speak to him like that but Donatello was not afraid of him at all...


	15. Temporary Truce

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> April reveals her grand plan to Mikey while Leo and Raph come up with a plan of their own

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Wow it's been forever since I updated this, like I'm a whole new different person now (well, new age). It had just been a crazy busy final school year but now that it's over I finally got around to finishing this chapter so
> 
> ~Enjoy

Mikey's blue eyes fluttered open against the steel table he rested his head against. He began to sit up slowly, removing the white lab coat draped over his back. The lab was empty, not a sign of Stockman anywhere. Walking out of the lab and back to his room. Mikey noticed light seeping out of the cracked door of April's room and voices pouring out with it. Their conversations halted when Mikey opened the door. April was sitting at her desk with Angel and Stockman leaning over it, looking at the papers sprawled out on its surface.

"Michelangelo, is there something-"

"What do you need me to do?" Mikey asked

"I'm sorry?" April asked

"You obliviously had a reason for telling me all this. For bring me here. What is it that you need me to do?" Mikey asked again.

The three of them exchanged glances, the same thought running through their minds: was he ready for this? Making the group's decision April stepped forward.

"Follow me."

The four of them made their way back to the main elevator that brought them down to the HQ. April placed her hand on the touch screen to have it scan her hand before the elevator began to travel further down. Mikey held his breath in the silent elevator as he watched the ground move upwards through the glass walls. The anticipation was just as when he first stepped into that elevator, but this time it worse because this time he knew whatever the elevator's destination was it wasn't going to be good.

When the dirt walls came to an end, a wide open room came into view. There were several tables with different tools scattered across them and one with a blueprint spread on to it on the closer half of the room. At the halfway mark of the room was a large control panel similar to the one from Shredder's lair but this one looked like it was still under repair.

"Our first objective is to bring the dimensional portal from Donnie's lab here to be completed. Stockman has finally collected all the components to move it and once it is here it can finally be finished." April explained.

"And then what?" Mikey asked.

"Then once it's finished and working we'll set it to that specific date Donnie said in his message and you will travel there to stop all of this from happening."

"And you honestly think this is going to work?" Mikey asked with slight concern.

"It has to. It will! It was Donnie's plan. Once you're there you'll have the chance to change all of this. To make this future better. You'll be able to stop Donnie from being kidnapped, stop Shredder's plans for building the portal, stop the Foot clan from taking over the world, and you can stop Donnie from being killed." April told him. "So what do you say?"

"I'm in." Mikey answered. "Let's do this."

 

\--------

 

Leo was sitting with his legs crossed in a meditating position in front of the two slabs of stone in the forest. His meditation time was usually always peaceful. Due to its far out location Foot soldiers didn't patrol this area of the forest so he never had to worry about intruders, but today no matter how much he tried to ignore it he could sense the presence of someone in area.

Leo toke in another deep breath before letting it out, trying to shut out the world around him but a ringing in the back of his head was disturbing his peace. Slipping out one of the knives he kept under the wrappings of his hand he turned his body to throw it like a dart behind him.

Raph jumped back behind a tree before the blade could cut through him. "Jesus! Will you chill out with the weapons? What are you trying to kill me?"

"I thought I made it clear to stay away." Leo replied solemnly

"I know! I know and I was but that was before I realized I needed your help."  
"You don't need my help." Leo scoffed with a laugh.

"Ok so maybe I don't need your help but someone else does: April." At the sound of their late brother's love's name Leo lifted his head a bit before he turned to face Raph.

"Somethings going on with her and her resistance team- she's lost it! She's planning on rebuilding Shredder's dimensional portal in some grand scheme to over throw him and she's willing to go to any lengths to get it done but her plan is suicidal. She's even teamed up with Baxter Stockman to make sure it gets done right." Raph explained. "And that's not else. There's something we didn't know about Donnie… Something he never told us-"

"-Donatello built the dimensional portal."

"What? You know?"

"Of course I know. Did you really think you were April's first choice for this?"

"Well I'm certainly not the last. She's got Mikey roped into this too."

"Figures. She's picking us off down the line."

"The worst part is I think he'll actually go through with it."

"Mikey wouldn't be stupid enough to be believe in some science fiction fantasy… then again." Leo stated.

"Well, it's starting to become fiction now. With the second portal in Donnie's lab, the plans in Metalhead, and Stockman and Mikey now willing to work for her, April has all the components she's needs to make it possible. She's going to recreate the Dimensional portal and put Mikey through it." Raph explained.

"I know and it's not going to work- I tried to tell her! But we all know that when she's determined there's no stopping her. You can't change the past, we learned that with Renet."

"I'm not just talking about changing the past I'm talking about keeping Mikey from being killed."

"Well, I can't say it isn't nice to see you actually care about Michelangelo for a change." Leo responded, standing up to walk around Raph.

"Of course I care about him! He's my little brother."

"It didn't seem that way when you would lock yourself away from the world- from him."

"Oh like you have room to talk! You weren't any better! I remember you sulking in Donnie's lab crying 'oh whoa was me!' and spending hours in the dojo meditating with father. For God's sake Leo, grow up!"

"A better alternative to grieving than what you chose."

"Stop it, Leo. I threw that me away years ago and I haven't gone back since." Raph told him.

"That doesn't change the fact that you did it! We all lost Donnie that day, but you chose a weak way to deal with it!" Leo scolded

"Shut up, Leo! You don't know what I went through that day. I saw him get killed, Leo! And then die in my arms! Do you know how much I wanted that image out of my head? I felt like that was my only option after I didn't have you to turn to. And why couldn't I turn to you? Because you wanted everyone to feel sorry for you. Because you didn't have our best interest in mind that day and Donnie paid the ultimate price for it. Now we've all had our time to grieve and move on, but yet you can't just seem to do that! Why is that Leo? Huh? Why can't you just let go of the past and move on like rest of us?"

"Because I never got to say goodbye!"

"What? What the hell are talking about?" Raph asked.

"Donatello. I was too late and I never got to say goodbye to him- I wasn't there. I never got to tell him how sorry I was that that happened and how much I was going to miss him. I never got to tell him how much he meant to the team, how much he meant to me. He was gone by the time I got there; my last words to him were harsh orders, not sympathy! I didn't get to see him one last time. Tell him everything was going to be ok, hear his last words, or be there when he needed all of us the most. He was my little brother too and I was his leader, the one who he looked up to since we were little and it was my orders that got him killed. It was my fault that he died… and I… and I never got to tell him how sorry I was."

"I-I had no idea. I forgot that he was gone by the time you got back to the lair."

"I didn't even know it had happened." Leo sat himself in front of Donnie's grave. "I had my focus so wrapped around Karai until Casey burst in and toke her down. He told me something awful had happened and we had to leave and get to the lair as soon as possible. I had never imagined that's what he meant."

Raph's gaze dropped before he planted himself next to Leo.

"I was his older brother, his leader, and I let him down."

"We both did. We both should've noticed something was wrong and stopped this from happening. We should've helped him."

"We could've saved him." Leo added.

"Well, now you have another chance to save someone." Raph said standing up. "To make things right again.

"Alright, I'll assist you," Leo stood up as well. "But let me make something clear. I'm only doing this for Michelangelo, not you. That means as soon as this is over with, we go our separate ways again. Deal?" Leo held out his hand.

"Deal." Raph shook his hand.

"Now let's go save our little brother."


	16. Broken Promises

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mikey leads Stockman and Angel to the old lair to retrieve an item, forcing Mikey to come to terms with his inner demons.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Welp here's another chapter. This one's kind of slow but the next chapter is going to have a little more excitement. Also there's a mystery character at the end, think you can guess who it is?
> 
> ~Enjoy

"Now that you're on board with our plan, we'll need to get started right away." April stated as she sat a large rolled up paper on the table. "These are the blue prints Donnie left behind for the portal. We've gotten done as most as we can, now it's time to transfer the portal Donnie's already built from his lab to here to finish it. Your job is to lead Stockman, Angel and her team back to the lair to retrieve it." She told Mikey.

"Why does Stockman have to come?" Mikey asked, his eyes narrowing at Baxter.

"Because someone has to make sure you dimwits deliver that device carefully. This portal could help change the fate of our world so it needs to be handled with extreme care." Stockman answered.

"I can be careful." Mikey objected as he stood up straight, the handle of his nunchaku bumping against a cup full of pens, knocking it over.

"My point has been proven." Stockman gave him a smug look, only infuriating Mikey more.

"Think you can handle it?"

"With my eyes closed." Mikey responded.

\--

The trip to the lair was mostly silent with the occasional comments of "this way" and "we're almost there". It felt weird leading a group of people to his old home. A home that was made to be kept secret from people like them.

But things were different now. This wasn't his home anymore so there was no need to keep it hidden. Right?

"This is the entrance." Mikey pointed to the caved in entryway of the lair.

"Soldiers, make a path." Angel ordered her group, one of them, stepping forward, placed a device in front of the entry way before hitting a button on the remote in his hand, triggering the device to explode and get rid of the rubble.

They all filed into the lair's main room.

"So this is where you all were hiding all these years. The turtles' infamous lair." Stockman gazed around the lair. "I must say, it's a little disappointing."

"The portal's in here." Mikey shoved past Stockman, ignoring his comment as led them into Donnie's lab, revealing the portal to them.

"There it is." Stockman sighed. "The device that started it all. He really had been building it as an exact replica." He ran his hand along the metal frame. "We'll take it from here, Michelangelo."

A couple of soldiers began unbolting the portal from the ground while another one pulled a familiar looking device from his pocket.

"Is that a kraang teleportation thingy?" Mikey asked.

"Yeah." The solider replied not looking up at him. "What? You actually thought we were going to carry this thing all the way back to HQ?"

Taken aback by the soldier's comment, Mikey left the lab to leave them to their work. He walked over to Angel who was standing in the middle of the main room of the lair, taking in the scene.

"So, you used to live here?" Angel asked, noticing Mikey walking towards her. "This place is a dump!"  
"Yeah, well, it didn't look this way 30 years ago." Mikey commented. "This used to be the main room of the lair. It's where we would all hang out, watch TV, play video games." Mikey picked up a deserted, broken, game controller form under its sheet of dust.

"And back here was our bedrooms." Mikey led her further into the lair towards the barracks and to a specific door out of the four of them.

Using the weight of his body to push open the door, Mikey stepped into his old bedroom. The room's lighting was dim due to its only source being from the open door and it had a faint smell of mold. Things that were once on the shelves were scattered on the floor and the ceiling was caving in. Posters were either on the floor or barley hanging off the damp, bricked walls.

It looked exactly the same as when he last saw it.

\--

Mikey watched as both of his brothers walked off into different directions.

"Guys, come back! C'mon, we can fix this!" He shouted after them, not sure which to run too.

Jumping into the Shellraiser, he turned on the ignition and drove in the direction Raph went. Seeing his brother stomp down the tunnels, he pulled the Shellraiser around so it blocked his path.

"Raph, wait!" Mikey jumped in front of him.

"Just leave me alone, Mikey." Raph pushed past him, still rubbing the side of his face.

"Look, I know you're angry, but I'm sure Leo didn't mean it. We should all just go back to the lair and work this out together-"

"What lair, Mikey?" Raph turned around. "Our home is destroyed, there is no lair to go back too."

Mikey's shoulders dropped.

"And that guy back there is not Leo. Not anymore. Leo wouldn't have abandoned us when everything went to shit, he wouldn't blame us for everything that has happened and wouldn't keep abandoning us when we need him the most. That guy back there, he doesn't care about us, not since Donnie died. All he cares about it himself." Raph turned from him again. "He's not our older brother and I'm not sticking around to deal with anymore of his shit."

"So… what then? We're just giving up? After all that we've been through that's it? This is how it ends?" Mikey asked

"Yeah, Mikey, I think it is." Raph replied with a pained look as he watched all hope drain from his little brother's eyes.

"I mean who were we kidding? Without Donnie, we're not a team. We're just a couple of kids way over our heads. And it only took three people to die and for you to lose one of your arms for us to figure that out." Raph admitted, tear welling up in his eyes before he started blinking them away.

"Shredder won and we lost. Our part of the battle is over. We should just move on from this and focus more on surviving in this new world." Raph crossed his arms tightly across his chest before turning his back to Mikey. "I'll see you later, Mikey." He began to continue walking forward.

Mikey toke a step forward, reaching out his hand in an attempt to call out for him but then brought his hand back. Getting back in the Shellraiser, Mikey decided to go look for Leo. He drove in the opposite direction Raph was walking, keeping his eyes peeled for any sign of his oldest brother.

After searching the tunnels for hours, he finally came to terms that his oldest brother was gone. Taking the Shellraiser back to the remains of the lair and put in park and climbed out.

What was he supposed to do now? His brothers were gone, His home was destroyed, and his father was dead. For the first time in his life he was all alone.

Crawling out of the Shellraiser he squeezed through the left over debris to get into the lair. Making his way through he made it back to where the bedroom were. He got under a large slab of cement that was blocking the door to his room and pushed up on it with his back to move it out of the way before going inside. Clearing off his bed, he laid on top of it and sobbed into his pillow, surrounded by his destroyed room.

\--

"Commander." A soldier saluted behind them, taking their attention. "The device has been unbolted from the floor and is ready for transport."

"Great. We'll be there in a minute." Angel responded, having the soldier salute here again before walking back to Donnie's lab. "Well that's all we needed to do here. Are you ready to go or do you need a minute?"

Mikey didn't respond to her question. Instead, he walked past her and back into Donnie's lab. In there he caught sight of Stockman standing in front of Donnie's desk. He was holding up an old Nintendo Gameboy with two whisks attached to the top that Donnie used to track the mutagen canisters looking at it with grief in his eyes.

"What a shame for such a great mind to have to go to waste." Stockman sighed in sorrow.

Mikey's eyes dropped before he turned toward the portal in the middle of the room.

"What are you thinking about?" Angel asked behind him.

"Just… how everything was a lie. How the thing that brought the end of the world was right here in my own home. And the guy I trusted the most built it."

"You know he didn't have a choice, Michelangelo. You heard him say so yourself, it was either build this or put you all at risk."

"But was it worth it? To have the world under Shredder's control? To have everyone's lives ruined? For his life to end just so ours didn't have to?"

"Maybe to him, you guys were his whole world. Maybe he didn't care if the world went to hell as long as you guys were ok." Angel pointed out.

That sounded like Donnie. Always putting the people he loved before himself.

The group of soldiers around the machine began to lift it and carry it through the portal created from the Kraang device the led directly to the HQ.

"You ready to go?" Angel asked him.

Mikey looked around once more.

Maybe Raph was right all those years ago. It was time to let go of the past and focus more on surviving in this new world.

It was time to move on.

"Yeah, I'm ready." Taking a final glance, Mikey followed Angel through the portal.

.

.

.

Far on the other side of the city a once abandoned church that was home to the Foot soldiers was expanded twice its size to become Shredder's fortress. A castle to his empire. Foot soldiers were heavily stationed around the perimeter to keep any unwanted guests from entering. Inside, in one of the rooms was a surveillance room where Shredder kept a close watch on his city and all of his slaves. At the moment, the soldiers were occupied with a continuous signal from a once dead location. Taking a tablet with the signal on it, one of the soldiers presented it to his master.

"Our sensors in the sewer systems have been picking up activity in this location multiple times in the past couple weeks." He reported as he bowed before her throne.

The woman leaned forward in her throne to take the tablet from the soldier. Seeing where the signal was coming from made her raise a brow.

"The older subway station under Manhattan, huh? That used to be the lair of the turtles." She commented. "Send soldiers to patrol that area. Anyone found down there sticking their noses where it doesn't belong, have them brought directly to me."


End file.
